
Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci championed the mitigation efforts implemented across the US and considers them the "basis for our being able to say that we can now think seriously about reopening America."
Fauci's comments come after numerous states, including Georgia and Tennessee, have said they would reopen parts of their economies soon.
"So what has happened is that the mitigation that we put in with the first 15 days and then the 30-day mitigation program of physical distancing worked. So it got us to where we are today. It is a successful formula. It is the basis for our being able to say that we can now think seriously about reopening America," Fauci said at the White House's coronavirus task force briefing today.
Fauci concluded his remarks with a request for lawmakers around the country to be careful to avoid a "rebound" of coronavirus cases.
"I plead with the American public, with the governors, with the mayors for the people with the responsibility, although I know one has the lead to leapfrog over things, don't do that. Do it in a measured way. This is a successful formula. The problem is if we don't do that, there is a likelihood that we'll have a rebound. And the one way not to reopen the economy is to have a rebound that we can't take care of," he said.
See Dr. Fauci's message here: