Top US epidemiologist Anthony Fauci on Tuesday told lawmakers if the current surge in Covid-19 cases in the southern states did not change, it could get “very bad”.
Fauci said he would “not be surprised” if daily infections, which are currently averaging 40,000, go as high as 100,000. He refused to give his estimation of fatalities.
Fauci was testifying at a US senate hearing along with other top public health of the the country, Robert Redfield of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Stephen Hahn of the Food and Drug Administration and Admiral Brett Giroir of the heath and human services. All four are members of the White house task force on coronavirus, which is headed by Vice-President mike Pence.
“I think it is important to tell and you the American public that I’m very concerned because it could get very bad,” said Fauci, who has headed the US National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases for decades.
He went on to state,“Clearly, we are not in total control right now.” And warned that the surge in southern states had put other parts of the country at risk as well.