DR. TONY FAUCI cautions against lifting policies aimed at curbing coronavirus (White House photo).
Warning of the possible impact of reopening the national economy, Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday morning testified to a U.S. Senate committee that “consequences could be really serious” if the process moved too quickly.
Speaking from via video link from his home, Dr. Fauci said “There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation you will see some [coronavirus] cases reappear.”
He added that if guidelines are not followed, it could worsen not just the public health situation, but also the prospects for a financial upswing, according to the Associated Press.
“My concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” he told the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee. “The consequences could be really serious.”
He went to say that opening too soon would cause “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery.”
Dr. Fauci was testifying remotely because he has been exposed to some White House staff who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
In other news stories related to the coronavirus pandemic:
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders on Tuesday took the wraps off a $3 trillion relief package with a vote likely to come on Friday. Termed the HEROES (Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Emergency Situations) Act, the legislation would give funds to local and state governments, hazard pay for health and other public safety workers and relief for renters and mortgage payers, according to United Press International. It would also include money for mail-in voting. Republican leaders expressed opposition, saying that present measures would need to be evaluated first.
- Wall Street had another rough day on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 457.21 points (1.89 percent), while the S&P 500 was down 2.05 percent and the NASDAQ Composite declined 2.06 percent. According to UPI, the drop was partly a reaction to Dr. Fauci’s comments to the U.S. Senate cautioning against an early “re-opening” of the economy.
- The California State University system – which includes nearby Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach – will not hold on-campus classes for the fall semester but instead conduct instruction online, according to The New York Times. The CSU is the nation’s largest public university system.
Global deaths at 290k, U.S, at 82,015
The newest count of coronavirus statistics – compiled by Johns Hopkins University – shows that as of Tuesday, there have been 4,237,709 cases confirmed worldwide, with the United States the leader with 1,366,350.
There have been 290,838 global deaths reported, with 82,105 in the U.S.
The biggest part of the fatalities in the United States is from the New York-New Jersey area with almost 37,000 deaths.
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