#Anthony Fauci says US must lower daily coronavirus cases to 10,000 before fall

Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that the US could end up “in a really bad situation” if it does not bring its daily coronavirus case count down to 10,000 by September, according to a report.

The top infectious diseases expert told the Journal of the American Medical Association in a livestreamed interview Monday that between 50,000 to 60,000 cases are diagnosed each day — suggesting the US is “right in the middle of the first wave,” NBC News reported.

“If we don’t get them down, then we’re going to have a really bad situation in the fall,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the journal’s editor, Dr. Howard Bauchner.

He said his assessment was based on the expected fall emergence of the flu, which sickens thousands, and the colder weather, which will likely drive more people indoors, where the coronavirus spreads more easily.

Fauci — a member of the White House pandemic task force — noted that the virus follows a “real and potential pattern,” beginning with an early spike in the percentage of positive tests, followed by a surge in cases, NBC News reported.

That same “insidious increase in percent positive” that was seen in the South and West several weeks ago is now being experienced across other states, he said.

That’s a sign that “you may need to pause, you may need to drop back a little bit,” Fauci said. “I don’t think you necessarily have to revert to going all the way back to closing.”

Fauci also said he believes there is “a degree” of airborne spread of the virus, though its role is still being studied, according to CNBC.

“I think that there certainly is a degree of aerosolization,” Fauci said during the JAMA interview. “But I’m going to take a step back and make sure that we learn the facts before we start talking about it.”

Health experts have said the bug is generally transmitted through large respiratory droplets, often when a person sneezes or coughs.

In March, the World Health Organization warned that such droplets could become airborne and linger in certain environments.

The organization last month published new guidance that acknowledged it can’t rule out the possibility the virus can be transmitted through air particles in closed spaces indoors.

On Monday, Fauci said it has become “much clearer” that people are likely at higher risk if they’re in an indoor space where there’s less air circulation and “any degree of aerosolization.”

“We need to pay a little bit more attention now to the recirculation of air indoors, which tells you that mask-wearing indoors when you’re in a situation like that is something that is as important as wearing masks when you’re outside dealing with individuals who you don’t know where they came from or who they are,” he said.

“It’s something we’re learning more and more about. We’ve got to make sure that we’re humble enough to accumulate new knowledge and use it as we get it,” Fauci added.

He also continued to urge people to “show a degree of consistency” about face masks, social distancing and hand-washing, saying, “It’s not rocket science.”

He added: “The virus, if left to its own devices, is going to keep resurging” unless people practice physical distancing of 6 feet and wear masks in public.