Dr. Anthony Fauci now says that a potential second wave of coronavirus infections in the fall or winter is no longer an “inevitability.”
Fauci, one of the top medical experts on the White House coronavirus task force, told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Wednesday that he feels “better and better” about the government’s capability of containing the virus as states reopen.
“We often talk about the possibility of a second wave, or of an outbreak when you’re reopening. We don’t have to accept that as an inevitability,” he explained. “When people start thinking about the fall, I want people to really appreciate that it could happen, but it is not inevitable.” (RELATED: Dr. Birx Says ‘It’s Difficult To Tell’ How Government Would Handle Potential Coronavirus Second Wave)
“If we do the kinds of things that we’re putting in place now, to have the workforce, the system, and the will to do the kinds of things that are the clear and effective identification, isolation and contact tracing, we can prevent this second wave that we’re talking about.”
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Fauci previously said he fully “anticipated” a coronavirus rebound in the fall but thought the government would be better equipped to handle it.
President Donald Trump stated Thursday that he won’t deal with a potential second wave by closing the country.
“We’re not going to close the country,” he told reporters at a Ford manufacturing plant in Michigan. “We’re going to put out the fires. There could be, whether it’s an ember or a flame, we’re going to put it out, but we’re not closing our country.”