Fauci: 'Precarious situation' with virus surge in the US

The government's top infectious disease expert says the U.S. is facing a continuing surge of coronavirus cases coming off the Thanksgiving holiday and into the approaching Christmas season. "When you look at the numbers, almost every day, either breaks a record or ties a record of cases. To have a baseline of between one or two hundred thousand cases a day is extraordinary," Dr. Anthony Fauci said during an online interview Monday with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The comment comes as Americans returning from Thanksgiving break faced strict new coronavirus measures around the country Monday as health officials brace for a disastrous worsening of the nationwide surge because of holiday gatherings over the long weekend.

Fauci warned on ABC over the weekend that the country could see a "surge upon surge" of infections tied to Thanksgiving. And White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx told CBS that people who traveled should "assume that you were exposed and you became infected," and get tested if they experience symptoms.

Health experts had pleaded with Americans to stay home over Thanksgiving and not gather with anyone who didn't live with them. Nevertheless, almost 1.2 million people passed through U.S. airports Sunday, the most since the pandemic gripped the country in March, and others took to the highways to be with family and friends.

Now they're being urged to watch for any signs of illness and get tested right away if they experience symptoms.Health officials are urging people to remain vigilant until a vaccine becomes widely available, which is not expected to happen for at least a few months.

On Monday, Moderna Inc. said it will ask U.S. and European regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine as new study results confirm the shots offer strong protection. Pfizer is also seeking approval for its vaccine and hopes to begin administering shots in the U.S. in December.

The virus is blamed for over 267,000 deaths and more than 13.4 million confirmed infections in the U.S. The country on average is seeing more than 160,000 new cases per day and over 1,400 deaths - a toll on par with what the nation witnessed in mid-May, when New York City was the epicenter. A record 90,000 people were in the hospital with the virus in the U.S. as of Sunday, pushing many medical institutions to the limit.

(Image Credit: AP)