Dr. Anthony Fauci was back on Capitol Hill today with a dire warning. At a hearing, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist said:
“I can’t make an accurate prediction but it is going to be very disturbing I will guarantee you that… We are now having 40-plus-thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around, and so I am very concerned.”
During questioning from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dr. Fauci was also asked about the rising death toll.
“I would really be hesitant to give a number that will come back and either be contradicted and overblown or underblown. But I think it’s important to tell you and the American public that I’m very concerned because it could get very bad.”
Leave it to Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) to criticize Dr. Fauci for now providing enough “good news” during the hearing.
Rand Paul criticized Dr. Fauci for not providing more “optimism” and for being “presumptuous” — and Fauci wasn’t really having it pic.twitter.com/2yEoZKrVYW
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 30, 2020
But Fauci wasn’t called to Capitol Hill to provide optimism, he was there to provide facts based on scientific evidence, and right now there is an indication that many states are not flattening the curve. CNBC points out:
The number of new cases reported each day in the U.S. is now outpacing April, when the virus rocked Washington state and parts of the Northeast, especially the New York City metropolitan area.
The U.S. averaged 39,750 new cases per day over the past seven days as of Monday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That average has risen by more than 40% compared with a week ago.
Watch more above.
