Next Two Weeks Are Critical For The US: Fauci Warns!
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : June 26, 2020Dr. Anthony Fauci is the top infectious disease expert at the National Institutes of Health. He told Congress that the next two weeks will be “critical” in how the country addresses the surge especially in states like Florida, Texas, and Arizona. A panel of health experts has advised the lawmakers that the USA is seeing a disturbing surge in Coronavirus infections in some states. New outbreaks may occur in the next two weeks. Some of the states of the USA like Texas, Alabama, Missouri, and Nevada reported daily high COVID-19 cases.
Texas reported 5,996 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. This has beaten Wednesday’s record of 5,551. The panel of four top health experts also testified they were never told by President Donald Trump to “slow down” testing. This is a reply to the president as he told ina weekend rally in Oklahoma that he had asked his team to do less testing to help keep official case counts down. President Donald Trump blames the rise in coronavirus cases on increased testing, despite evidence of more spread. He suggests that case counts will drop with fewer tests.
Dr. Anthoni Fauci said, “To my knowledge, none of us have ever been told to slow down on testing. In fact, we will be doing more testing.” Among the panel of four experts, one was Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the other three officials are representing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services. All the four experts denied the President’s comment, saying they had never been directed to slow testing. The health department assistant secretary, Brett Giroir told lawmakers he expects the US will be able to conduct 40 to 50 million tests per month by autumn.
Are intermittent lockdowns essential in the country?
Three of the nation’s most populous states such as California, Texas, and Florida have reported record-setting highs in daily new cases. Experts are now discussing the intermittent lockdowns and whether it is essential to control the spreading pandemic. Health expert, Dr. Fauci said that it might not be necessary for states to issue a total lockdown but instead roll back or pause reopening phases until cases are manageable.
The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott halted reopening plans in Texas on Thursday and suspended elective surgeries in the state’s largest counties. Earlier this week, Greg Abbott said to the people of Texas, “We want to make sure everyone reinforces the best safety practices of wearing a mask, hand sanitation, maintaining a safe distance, but importantly because the spread is so rapid right now, there’s never a reason for you to have to leave your home unless you need to go out.
The safest place for you is at your home.” Experts also opinioned that people are not doing the basic things like physical distancing, mask-wearing, washing hands, staying away from other people. That’s why the COVID positive cases spiked from 7% to 11% in just a week.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.