August 6 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Meg Wagner and Melissa Macaya, CNN

Updated 4:28 p.m. ET, November 23, 2020

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11:58 p.m. ET, August 5, 2020

Fauci on coronavirus pandemic: "I don't think we're going to eradicate this from the planet"

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman

The world is not going to be able to eradicate the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US' leading infectious disease expert, said Wednesday in an interview with Reuters.

A vaccine can help get the pandemic under control, Fauci added.

“I don't think we’re going to eradicate this from the planet because it's such a highly transmissible virus that that seems unlikely,” Fauci said in the interview, posted on YouTube. “But what I think we can do with the combination of a good vaccine and attention to public health measures -- by attention I don't mean shut down, I mean things that are just prudent -- then I think we can get behind this."

After next year, the virus should be manageable, Fauci predicted.

“I hope and feel it's possible that by the time we get through 2021 and go around for another cycle that we'll have this under control,” he said. “Is it conceivable that we won't? Of course. I would be unrealistic to say that. Do I think we're going to have much, much better control one full year from this winter? I think so.”

8:37 p.m. ET, August 5, 2020

France records highest daily increase in coronavirus cases in more than 2 months

From CNN's Barbara Wojazer in Paris

France has recorded the highest daily rise in coronavirus infections in more than two months, according to figures published by the National Health Agency on Wednesday.

France reported 1,695 new cases in 24 hours, making this the biggest increase since May 30, when an increase of 1,828 cases was recorded.

The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals and in intensive care units has decreased in the past 24 hours, according to the Health Agency data.

The overall death toll in the country stands at 30,305.

Read more about the resurgence of coronavirus cases in Europe:

Germany's new virus cases fell to below 500 a day for weeks. Now they've topped 800

8:39 p.m. ET, August 5, 2020

Fauci: US will continue to "smolder" if there's no unified response

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US' leading infectious disease expert, warned that if the United States does not have a unified response against Covid-19, the country is at risk of continuing to "smolder."

Speaking to CNN's Sanjay Gupta, Fauci used the metaphor of a rowing team, noting that while watching matches of his daughter who was on a varsity crew team in college, he learned that to "win the race" all those on the boat must be "rowing in unison."

"The only way you're going to win the race is that when all eight are rowing in unison. You get one that catches a crab, as it were, with, an oar goes that way or you don't row, you don't win. So as long as you have any member of society, any demographic group who's not seriously trying to get to the end game of suppressing this, it will continue to smolder and smolder and smolder, and that will be the reason why in a non-unified way we've plateaued at an unacceptable level."

Fauci added that he thinks this lack of unity "is the problem."