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Dr. Fauci expresses concern over Florida re-opening [Video]
- Top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned Monday that coronavirus outbreaks may surge again once Florida re-opens its bars and restaurants.
- The warning came after Florida announced the reopening of its economies as the state enters its 3rd phase of removing restrictions on businesses.
- So far, Florida residents are currently testing positive for the virus at over a 10 percent rate, with a death toll reaching a rate of 65.8 percent per 100,000 Floridians.
Three days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the full re-opening of his state’s bars and restaurants, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top expert on infectious diseases, warned on Monday that such decisions will likely restart coronavirus outbreaks.
“We have always said that, myself and Dr. Deborah Birx, who is the coordinator of the task force, that that is something we really need to be careful about,” Fauci told ABC‘s “Good Morning America.”
“Because when you’re dealing with community spread, and you have the kind of congregate setting where people get together, particularly without masks, you’re really asking for trouble. Now’s the time actually to double down a bit, and I don’t mean close,” Fauci further explained.
Fauci’s warning comes after the state begins its Phase 3 of lifting restrictions on such businesses despite being one of the states hardest hit by the virus.
As per daily count by Johns Hopkins University, Floridians are now testing positive at more than a 10 percent rate. A benchmark of 5 has been set by the World Health Organization to serve as a guide for local governments before re-opening their economies.
Data from Johns Hopkins on Monday also indicated that the virus has killed Florida’s residents at a rate of 65.8 per 100,000, with only 10 states showing a higher percentage.
Fauci stressed that he is not talking about shutting down anything, rather, a dose of “common sense type of public health measures that we’ve been talking about all along.”
Representatives for Gov. DeSantis could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Source: Aol.com
