“We started to come down and then we plateaued at a level that was really quite high—about 20,000 infections a day,” Fauci said, as reported by Reuters. “Then as we started to reopen, we’re seeing the surges that we’re seeing today as we speak in California, your own state, in Arizona, in Texas, in Florida, and several other states.” Fauci has recently mentioned the heterogeneity of the United States and the specific challenges brought about by regional differences within the country in terms of containing the spread of the coronavirus. Though he didn’t name states in particular, Fauci told the FiveThirtyEight podcast on July 9: “Despite the guidelines and the recommendations to open up carefully and prudently, some states skipped over those and just opened up too quickly.” In his Stanford interview, Fauci didn’t provide all bad news, however, suggesting that many of the states that are seeing surges in cases can lessen the spread by simply following the CDC’s basic guidelines that include physical distancing, wearing masks, avoiding crowds, and frequent hand-washing. “Those things, as simple as they are, can turn it around,” he said. “I think we can do that and that’s what we’ve got to do.“ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Fauci also made clear that another shutdown is not necessarily inevitable. “You don’t necessarily need to shut down again, but pull back a bit, and then proceed in a very prudent way of observing the guidelines, of going from step to step,” he explained. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. On July 8, Fauci issued a similar warning about rolling back on reopening in an interview with The Wall Street Journal podcast, The Journal. “We’ve got to just tighten things up,” he said, telling states in trouble to “close the bars,” ensure that restaurants have “very good seating,” and require patrons to wear masks and abide by social distancing guidelines. “Do it in a measured way, the way the guidelines delineate,” he said. “If you do that, the chances of getting a surge are much, much less than if you just jump over things.” And for more on COVID spikes right now, check out The CDC Warns That These Are the Next 10 Coronavirus Hotspots.
