Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, and National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci listen as President Donald J. Trump speaks with the coronavirus task force during a briefing in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Friday, March 20, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images
White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday he’s “not comfortable” with the level of Covid-19 cases in the United States as the nation enters its fall and winter seasons.
The U.S. is reporting roughly 40,000 new coronavirus cases a day, which may get even worse as temperatures get cooler and people head indoors, Fauci said during an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “I’m not comfortable with that. I would like to see that level, way, way down, well below 10,000.”
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said some regions of the country are doing quite well while others are struggling.
“In certain regions of the country, like the Midwest the Northwest, and even now we’re starting to see a little difficulty in the northeast in New York. Then you get concerned because it is more difficult to deal with respiratory borne virus, as people begin to go indoors more,” he said. “And if you start seeing upticks, the way we’re seeing it, and you have a baseline that’s 40,000 and stuck at 40,000, that’s not the optimal position to be in as you enter into the fall and winter.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.