Fauci reports that the U.S is still in the first wave of coronavirus outbreak

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Dr. Fauci confirmed that the U.S hadn’t reached the second wave of coronavirus, warned that reopening should never be a reason to observe social distancing.
• The infectious disease expert also remarked that an increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases could not be attributed to testing capacity.
• A model projects that the U.S will record around 200,000 coronavirus related deaths by October 1.

Top American infectious disease authority, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warns that the United States is still in its first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many states move to reopen even if the positive cases continue to rise.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Fauci said that the public’s already speaking about the second wave when the virus is still in its first phase.

Manuel Bojorquez of CBS News reported that no less than nineteen states had witnessed new growth in coronavirus cases in the last two weeks. On Tuesday, six states had listed a new record-high on a single day surge in new infections, with Florida having 2,78,  Arizona 2,392, and Texas at  2,622.

As of late, the COVID-19 death toll in the U.S has exceeded 117,000. University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) estimates that another 85,000 people will be added to the casualty until October 1. With their model’s projection, a total of 200,000 deaths will be recorded by the U.S by then.

Their projection has reportedly gone up by over 30,000 since the previous week.

President Donald Trump asserted that the spike in the number of cases is because of the expanded testing capacity across the nation. He also noted that if testing ceases, only a few infections will be recorded.

Trump further bragged that the U.S has the most advanced and biggest testing capability worldwide.

However, Fauci told the outlet on Tuesday that the increase in cases is not related to the number of tests conducted.

IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray remarked during a June 11 press conference that the organization considered the testing capacity expansion in the new projections.

Murray explained they are currently attempting to sort out the trend in cases to show if increased testing capabilities could be a factor with the outbreak’s tendencies.

IHME reported the critical reasons for the estimated increase are the increase in people’s movement and early lifting of social distancing measures in some areas.

Fauci agrees with what the institute believes, and told the Journal the risk is still high for people to gather in crowded places.

On Tuesday, the expert also told the National Public Radio (NPR) that some states hastily reopened even the criteria to do so safely was not yet met.

Fauci further noted that even though many states have observed federal guidelines for opening again, the people might not be following the plans to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Source: CBS News