Top government infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci on Friday warned Americans against getting complacent about the coronavirus and said that he disagrees with President Donald Trump’s assessment the US has “rounded the corner” on the coronavirus pandemic.
Fauci, the outspoken director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said statistics related to COVID-19 were still disturbing. He added that the US was starting the flu season with a high baseline of around 40,000 new cases a day and deaths are averaging around 1,000 daily, a Reuters report read.
Fauci added that the pandemic could worsen if Americans weren’t careful. Trump on Thursday admitted that he initially lied about the pandemic to prevent creating panic among citizens, but believed that the US was “rounding the corner” on the crisis.
Fauci also said that the campaign rallies that Trump resumed were risky. “Just because you’re outdoors does not mean that you’re protected, particularly if you’re in a crowd and you’re not wearing masks,” he said.
Fauci also said he hoped there wouldn’t be a surge in cases post the Labour Day weekend like there were after Memorial Day and July 4th celebrations.
The US, in the meantime, voted against a UN resolution for a “comprehensive and coordinated response” to the COVID-19 pandemic, a text that included recognition of the WHO's leadership role, an AP report reads.
The text “calls for intensified international cooperation and solidarity to contain, mitigate and overcome the pandemic and its consequences”.