Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is weighing in on the debate on lockdowns as the number of coronavirus cases in the United States surpasses 4 million.
Appearing on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” on Friday, Fauci was asked if he agreed with doctors and other health care professionals on their suggestion to “hit the reset button” and shut down the U.S. economy for a second time.
Fauci indicated he does not believe shutting down for a second time is something the nation needs to do at this time.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to do that,” Fauci said. “You know it might come to that, but right now I think if you look at what’s going on in some of the southern states, particularly having the resurging of cases, you can put a pause on what you’re doing or even maybe take a step back.”
Check out his comments below:
WATCH: Dr. Anthony Fauci weighs in on where the U.S. stands on COVID-19 vaccines and the current debate on lockdowns after the U.S. surpasses 4 million coronavirus cases #nine2noon pic.twitter.com/wUyTauqtZq
— America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) July 24, 2020
Fauci explained if a state or city is in phase two of the guidelines for reopening, they might want to consider taking a pause or going back to phase one.
If a region is in phase one, they could go back to the “gateway component” of the guidelines.
Fauci reiterated he does not believe shutting down for a second time is required across the entire U.S. and suggested there are ways the nation can stop the resurgence of coronavirus cases.
“I’m not so sure you need to all of a sudden, everybody, go back to a complete lockdown,” Fauci said.
He added, “You know, it could come to that, you’ve always got to leave that on the table, but I think we could probably get around what we’re doing now and put a lid on it and stop this surging by just being a bit more caution.”
Fauci listed some of the ways Americans can slow the spread of the coronavirus including wearing masks, avoiding crowded places, practicing social distancing, closing bars, and washing hands.
More than 144,000 Americans have lost their lives to the coronavirus. New York and California have become the states with the most known cases, more than 820,000 people have been infected between those two states.