Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared tentative on President Donald Trump’s alleged new goal to reopen the country on May 1, noting that “the virus kind of decides” during a CNN interview Friday.
CNN’s Alisyn Camerota spoke to the coronavirus task force expert on “New Day” and asked about Trump’s new reported date for reopening the country amid the novel coronavirus. Fauci noted that the task force is studying it all and constantly has new data coming in about the novel coronavirus.
“Well, as I’ve said so many times, Alisyn, the virus kind of decides whether or not it’s going to be appropriate to open or not,” Fauci added. “What we’re seeing right now are some favorable signs, as I discussed with you a few times on this show.” (RELATED: Fauci On Coronavirus In US: ‘It’s Going To Get Worse’)
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Fauci noted that once it appears safe, the country should reopen “in a gradual way” and that it would be a mistake “to get out there prematurely and wind up back in the same situation.” He said that he “would want to see a clear indication” that the country is “going in the right direction” before opening back up.
“At the end of the day, we have FEMA involved,” Fauci said. “We have Dr. Debbie Birx, the coordinator within the task force, and we go over the data on a day by day basis and we report it to the president and the vice president. That decision will be made at that level.”