The government’s top public health experts issued dire warnings to the American public in appearances on Sunday news shows as the country stands on the precipice of what may be one of its deadliest winters. Around the country, hospitalizations are at an all-time high. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump refuses to take sweeping action to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation where she warned people who traveled during the Thanksgiving holiday to get tested in a week for Covid-19 and to behave as if they are infected, taking care to stay away from vulnerable populations.
“If your family traveled, you have to assume that you are exposed and you became infected,” Birx said, “And you really need to get tested in the next week, and you need to avoid anyone… [who has] comorbidities or [is] over 65.”
She also recommended families who traveled wear masks indoors to prevent the virus from spreading further. It’s wise advice, considering we already have seen too many stories to count where entire families came down with the virus and many family members died from it.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also painted a grim picture in his appearance on ABC’s This Week. He warned of an upcoming “surge upon surge” in cases stemming from Thanksgiving gatherings.
“When you have the kind of inflection that we have, it doesn’t all of a sudden turn around like that,” Fauci told host Martha Raddatz. “So clearly, in the next few weeks, we’re going to have the same sort of thing, and perhaps even two or three weeks down the line, Martha, we may see a surge upon a surge.”
Fauci continued, “You know, we don’t want to frighten people, but that’s just the reality. We said that these things would happen as we got into the cold weather and as we began traveling. And they’ve happened. It’s going to happen again.”
NEW: “We may see a surge upon a surge. We don’t want to frighten people but that’s just the reality,” Dr. Anthony Fauci tells @MarthaRaddatz, adding that he doesn’t expect a relaxation of restrictions or travel advisories for the Christmas season. https://t.co/txCs2tyc80 pic.twitter.com/ajTlQoMzpK
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 29, 2020
Fauci has warned previously that the U.S. could reach 300-400,000 deaths this fall and winter. Currently, the American death count stands at 266,831, with no signs of slowing, and hospitals are already overwhelmed. Stay home. Wear a mask.
