It could also set states back «on the road to try to get back to an economic recovery,» Fauci tells senators.
White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Tuesday that the United States could face even more «suffering and death» from the coronavirus if some states rush to reopen businesses too early.
It could also hinder states «on the road to try to get back to an economic recovery,» he testified at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. «It would almost turn the clock back rather than going forward. That is my major concern.»
The White House has laid out a plan that allows states to gradually reopen local businesses as cases and hospitalizations decline and testing increases, among other «checkpoints,» Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. He added he’s worried that some states are loosening social distancing restrictions even as their Covid-19 cases continue to rise.
«What I’ve expressed then and again is my concern that if some areas, cities, states, what have you, jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,» he said.
