Fauci calls for extending rules as coronavirus cases climb in some states |
June 13, 2020 |
CNN – Coronavirus cases are on an upswing in several states and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cases could rise this summer as states reopen. But the nation’s top infectious disease expert said a second wave of the virus later this year is not inevitable.
More than 2 million people in the US have been infected by the virus and at least 114,669 have died from it, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. A forecast published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday projects the death toll could increase to 130,000 by July 4.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a recent increase in coronavirus cases in a number of states is not necessarily a “second spike.”
“However, when you start to see increases in hospitalization, that’s a surefire situation that you’ve got to pay close attention to,” Fauci told CNN on Friday.
Fauci also said there may not be a so-called second wave of Covid-19 cases as some health experts are predicting.
“It is not inevitable that you will have a so-called ‘second wave’ in the fall or even a massive increase if you approach it in the proper way,” he said.
He advised Americans to follow social distancing recommendations and to continue wearing masks in public, among other CDC guidelines.
Meanwhile, former CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding, an infectious disease expert who now is an executive vice president at Merck & Co Inc., said Friday that the industry’s collaborative efforts and the 130 vaccines in different stages of production points make her cautiously optimistic the pandemic will end with a vaccine.
“I think the science is on our side, but that doesn’t say anything about the speed, the safety, and the durability and all of the other criteria that have to come into play before we have something that we can count on to give us that population immunity,” Gerberding said … Read more.
DO MASKS HELP? RECENT COVERAGE …
This WHO Doc Just Blew A Giant Hole In Mask Rules
