Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that he’s “not really sure” why coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have continued to fall in Texas despite the state lifting all restrictions nearly a month ago but said it could be because “people are doing things outdoors.”
Co-anchor Willie Geist said the bars and restaurants look like they did pre-pandemic since Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement on March 2 that the state could open up again. He also noted that cases and hospitalizations have continued to decline.
“It can be confusing, because you may see a lag and a delay because often, you have to wait a few weeks before you see the effect of what you’re doing right now,” Fauci replied. “There are a lot of things that go into that, I mean when you say that they’ve had a lot of activity on the outside like ball games – I’m not really quite sure. It could be they’re doing things outdoors.” (RELATED: It’s Been Three Weeks, Where Are The COVID-19 Surges?)
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Dr. Fauci on Texas Covid cases dropping despite ignoring his advice on masks/social distancing: “It can be confusing, because … often you have to wait a few weeks before you see the effect … I’m not really quite sure. It could be they’re doing things outdoors” pic.twitter.com/yuFEPoE2BV
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) April 6, 2021
Fauci added it’s important to see the trends in cases over a longer period of time. He said it could take several weeks to see cases start to go back up after lifting restrictions, and cautioned against drawing any conclusions too early. (RELATED: ‘Absolutely Reckless’: Gavin Newsom Slams Texas’s Decision To Lift Mask Mandate)
“You know it’s very difficult to just one on one compare that,” he said. “You just have to see in the long-range. I hope they continue to tick down, if they do that would be great. But there’s always the concern when you pull back on methods, particularly things like indoor dining and bars that are crowded, you can see a delay and then all of the sudden tick back up.”
“We’ve been fooled before by situations where people begin to open up, nothing happens, and then all of the sudden several weeks later things start exploding on you,” Fauci continued. “So we have to be careful we don’t prematurely judge that.”