A former CDC official warned Tuesday that the U.S. might experience a higher surge of coronavirus cases due to the spread of the Delta variant, CNN reported.
Tom Frieden, a former director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), claimed that the country could see the current incidence of new cases quadruple in just six weeks, according to CNN. (RELATED: US To Call For New Coronavirus Origins Study With Europe: Report)
“We’re heading into a rough time. It’s likely, if our trajectory is similar to that in the United Kingdom, that we could see as many as 200,000 cases a day,” the official claimed.
“The delta variant appears to be about twice or even more than twice as infectious,” says former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden as cases of the variant rise in the US. “Science will determine whether, when and who is going to need to get a booster shot.”https://t.co/BMX2lXonXE pic.twitter.com/GwZsEZOa64
— New Day (@NewDay) July 15, 2021
Frieden also warned that Americans could see a “steady increase” in “preventable deaths.” However, he noted that the U.S. would likely not experience “horrific death tolls” due to the number of vulnerable citizens who already received vaccines.
“Given where we are today with the Delta variant, the United States will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point,” an official from the Biden administration told Reuters. “Driven by the Delta variant, cases are rising here at home, particularly among those who are unvaccinated and appear likely to continue to increase in the weeks ahead.”
Non-U.S. citizens are currently prohibited from entering the U.S. if they have been in a number of nations within the previous 14 days, as previously reported. The United Kingdom, all the 26 Schengen nations in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil, are listed on the travel ban.