Published 12:31 IST, June 24th 2020
Anthony Fauci contradicts Trump's order to 'slow down', says 'more testing' in coming days
Anthony Fauci, member of the US government's coronavirus taskforce, while testifying before the House Committee on June 23 said that he is really concerned.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, member of the US government's coronavirus taskforce, while testifying before the House Committee on June 23 said that he is really concerned about the rising cases in some states like Arizona, Texas, and Florida. Fauci told the House Committee that the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be doing more testing, contrary to what the US President Donald Trump has been suggesting. Donald Trump on Tuesday tweeted that the United States should slow down the testing because smaller testing would show fewer cases. However, Fauci told the House that they have not been asked to slow down the testing and that they will be testing even more in the coming days.
Fauci also told the House that a COVID-19 vaccine could be ready by the end of this year or by early 2021, but warned that the next few weeks would be critical in containing the virus in hot spots across the country. Fauci testified in front of the House Committee after more than a month and he was accompanied by top officials from the Department of Health and Human Services and heads of Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
COVID-19 in the US
According to figures by Johns Hopkins University, the United States has recorded over 2.3 million coronavirus cases so far, of which 1,21,228 people have lost their lives. New York remains the worst-hit region in the country with 31,232 deaths, followed by New Jersey with 13,025 deaths. Cases are steadily rising in the country with 25 states reporting more infections last week than the previous week. According to reports, 10 states in the United States registered weekly infection rise of more than 50 percent.
Updated 12:31 IST, June 24th 2020