Fauci doesn’t expect any new US shutdowns despite high Delta cases

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, looks forward before testifying before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, July 20, 2021.

Stephanie Reynolds | Reuters

President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Sunday that he does not expect the United States to return to lockdowns, despite the increased risk of Covid-19 posed by the delta variant.

“I don’t think we’re going to see shutdowns,” Fauci, who is also director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on ABC’s This Week.

“I think we have enough percentage of people in the country – not enough to crush the outbreak – but I think it’s enough to not let us get into the situation we were in last winter.”

The sudden rise in the cases of delta variables hits the globe. Parts of Asia that were previously relatively successful in containing Covid-19, such as the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, are now locking down hot spots.

Some are resisting the new restrictions. From Monday, members of the military will help police in Sydney, Australia’s largest city, to verify the isolation of people who have tested positive.

In France, where the government is battling a fourth wave of infections, thousands protested for the third weekend in a row against the introduction of a mandatory health permit proving the vaccination that would be required to enter many public places.

Although Fauci doesn’t think the US will need to shut down again as it did last year, he warned on ABC that “things are only going to get worse” as the delta version continues to spread.

“We have 100 million people in this country who are eligible for vaccination and have not been vaccinated,” he said.

The average number of new cases reported each day has nearly doubled in the past 10 days, and the number of hospitalized patients has risen in many states, according to a Reuters analysis. At the same time, the number of Americans being vaccinated has increased.

“The upside to this is that people are waking up to this and this could be a turning point for those who have been hesitant,” NIH Director Francis Collins told CNN on Sunday. “That’s what we desperately need to happen if we’re going to get this Delta version back in place, because it’s currently having a really big downtown party.”

Florida has one of the worst outbreaks in the country, based on new cases per capita. It has reported more than 110,000 new cases in the past week, an increase of 50% from the previous week.

The US Centers for Disease Control said in an internal document that the delta variant, first detected in India, is as contagious as chickenpox and much more contagious than the common cold or flu. It can be transmitted by vaccination, and may cause more serious disease than previous strains.

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