July 19, 2020
NEW YORK (WABC) — Dr. Anthony Fauci said New York has set an example for the rest of the country of how to successfully bring down cases of coronavirus.
Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, discussed the latest developments on the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday night’s edition of PBS NewsHour.
When anchor Judy Woodruff asked Fauci about a solution to increasing testing throughout the country, he said that New York did it right.
Fauci said:
“Again, we have a problem. We need to admit it and own it. But we have got to do the things that are very clear that we need to do to turn this around, remembering we can do it.
“We know that, when you do it properly, you bring down those cases. We have done it. We have done it in New York. New York got hit worse than any place in the world. And they did it correctly by doing the things that you’re talking about.”
As cases in other parts of the country continue to surge and hit new record highs, Fauci believes that the key to containing the virus is to get the tests in the right place at the right time … Read more.
How Fauci says the U.S. can get control of the pandemic
July 17, 2020
PBS News Hour
Dr. Fauci joins Judy Woodruff to discuss his relationship with President Trump and recommendations for managing COVID-19.
Judy Woodruff:
Next week will mark six months since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in this country, but, as we just heard, much of the nation is struggling with the consequences of outbreaks and debating how to best respond.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH. He is a member of the president’s task force for dealing with COVID-19.
And, Dr. Fauci, we welcome you back to “NewsHour.”
So, as we know, this pandemic is getting worse, more cases, a surge even in the number of deaths in a number of states.
You have said that, yes, things could get worse, but you don’t think there will need to be another national shutdown. What, short of that, do you think needs to be done?
Anthony Fauci:
Thank you, Judy, for that question, because it is important.
I would think that, where we are right now, particularly in the Southern states, which are surging and are accounting for a considerable part of that now 60,000 to 70,000 new cases that we’re seeing every day, is that we need to re — sort of, I would say, maybe reboot, take a look at what we’re doing there.
And several of the states, if you look at them, some have maybe gone a little bit too quickly from one phase to another. And, in other situations, when the leadership of the states and the cities actually directed their citizens to do it correctly, that wasn’t very responsive.
And we have seen that when you see people congregating at bars, not wearing masks, in crowds.
We have got to say, this is not working. So, what we have got to do is reset. You may need to pull back a bit on a phase. You don’t necessarily need to lock down.
But you have got to do three or four or five things that are absolutely critical, Judy, because we know they work. And that is universal wearing of masks. Stay away from crowds. Close the bars.
You appeal to the people in the local areas, close those bars. They are seriously the — one of the major reasons why we’re seeing it.
And I think, if we do that for a couple of weeks in a row, Judy, I think we’re going to see a turnaround, because we know that that works.
Judy Woodruff:
But, with all due respect, Dr. Fauci, the American people have been hearing that message, and, in some places, it’s not working.
So, are you saying we just keep on with what we have been doing, or something different needs to happen?
Anthony Fauci:
No, I think it’s — I understand what you’re saying, Judy, and you make a good point.
But it’s been a bit spotty. It hasn’t been uniform, where everybody in that region says, wait a minute, we’re having a serious problem. We have got to reboot this.
And it isn’t like some people say, wear masks, others say not. Some people say bars are closed, others not. We have got to do it across the board in those areas. This is serious business.
And we can turn it around. If I didn’t think we could do it, I wouldn’t be so emphatic about emphasizing why we have got to do this … Read more.
