Fauci: Next 2 Weeks ‘Critical’ in Slowing Coronavirus Surges

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said in the course of a congressional hearing Tuesday that the next two weeks “will be critical” in the U.S. response to the recent surges of the novel coronavirus.

The nation’s top infectious disease specialist told a House committee that the United States is in the midst of a “disturbing surge” of new infections as states reopen their economies too quickly and too early.  He said that a major issue in the reopenings is a lack of sufficient plans for testing and contract tracing.

“The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges we are seeing in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and other states,” Fauci told the House Energy and Commerce panel.

The United States currently accounts for over 20% of the world’s 9.27 billion coronavirus cases, according to figures from Worldometer, a service that tracks such information.

Fauci did say that he was “cautiously optimistic” about having a virus ready for widespread use by early next year, but termed the recent surges “very troublesome.”

(Photo: Accura Media Group)