The United States has set a record number of new coronavirus cases reported per day five times within the last eight days. Now, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is warning that the country could see even higher numbers as the weather gets colder.
“We’re in for a whole lot of hurt. It’s not a good situation,” he told The Washington Post in an interview on Friday. “All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly.”
He went on to warn that the country needs an “abrupt change” in adherence to the guidelines around the virus, or America could see over 100,000 cases added per day.
The country reported a record 99,321 new coronavirus cases on Friday and 2,421 new hospitalizations as health experts warn deaths are expected to rise.
As coronavirus cases are surging across the country, President Donald Trump has accused the media of focusing too much on the virus.
“Cases up because we TEST, TEST, TEST. A Fake News Media Conspiracy. Many young people who heal very fast. 99.9%. Corrupt Media conspiracy at all time high. On November 4th., topic will totally change,” he said in a tweet.
Cases up because we TEST, TEST, TEST. A Fake News Media Conspiracy. Many young people who heal very fast. 99.9%. Corrupt Media conspiracy at all time high. On November 4th., topic will totally change. VOTE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 26, 2020
“It’s ‘COVID, COVID, COVID,’ you can’t watch anything else. On November 4th, you won’t be hearing so much about it,” he told his supporters at a rally last week.
However, White House coronavirus testing czar Admiral Brett Giroir said members of the coronavirus task force believe that “the data show that cases are going up. It’s not just a function of testing.”
Despite the rise in cases, Fauci — the nation’s top infectious disease expert — told the Post that he has not spoken with the president since he was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center recovering from COVID-19.
“The last time I spoke to the president was not about any policy; it was when he was recovering in Walter Reed, he called me up,” Fauci said.
He added that he has avoided trips to the West Wing because of “all the infections there.”
Fauci also addressed the newest White House coronavirus adviser, Dr. Scott Atlas, “I have real problems with that guy.”
He explained, “He’s a smart guy who’s talking about things that I believe he doesn’t have any real insight or knowledge or experience in. He keeps talking about things that when you dissect it out and parse it out, it doesn’t make any sense.”