
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist and prominent member of the White House coronavirus task force, said Tuesday that Covid-19 is a “pandemic of historic proportions.”
“I think we can’t deny that fact,” Fauci said during a Georgetown University Global Health Initiative webinar. “If you look at the magnitude of the 1918 pandemic where anywhere from 50 to 75 to 100 million people globally died, that was the mother of all pandemics and truly historic. I hope we don’t even approach that with this, but it does have the makings of, the possibility of … approaching that in seriousness.”
Fauci added he hopes the interventions that are being tested currently will help prevent such a disaster.
The challenge in the country now is the resurgence of infections in the South and Southwestern part of the country. Fauci said California, Florida, Arizona and Texas are the states to watch now.
“They’re seeing record numbers of cases, mostly interestingly, among young individuals,” Fauci said.
The rise in cases suggest a link to the lifting of restrictions in those states, he said.
“Individuals, mostly young people, were seen at bars congregated in crowded places, many of them without masks, which really adds fuel to the fire,” Fauci said.