Coronavirus: Fauci to warn on risk of opening US economy too soon
Al JazeeraTop expert will tell Senate that reopening economy too soon may result in ‘needless suffering and death’, report says. A senior health official set to testify before the US Senate will warn legislators about the risks of reopening the economy too soon, saying it could lead to “needless suffering and death”, according to the New York Times. Monday’s report about the warning from Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the White House’s coronavirus taskforce, came as President Donald Trump pressed states to lift lockdown measures, saying “people are dying in the lockdown position, too”. “This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.” The top infectious disease expert was referring to a White House plan that lays out guidelines for state officials considering reopening their economies. “We’re not reopening based on science,” Dr Thomas R Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was quoted as saying by the New York Times.