Dr. Anthony Fauci lowered the Coronavirus death toll estimate from upward of 240,000 to 60,000, offering some encouragement during the pandemic.
Dr. Fauci, President Trump’s top infectious disease expert, said that the new Coronavirus death toll estimate reflects the success of social distancing and statewide stay-at-home orders.
“What we are doing is working and therefore we need to continue to do it,” said Fauci. “I know I sound like a broken record — that’s good. I want to sound like a broken record. Let’s just keep doing it.”
“Hopefully, we’re going to be opening up very, very, very, very soon,” the president said.
However, Fauci and other health experts said testing needs to be widely expanded before the economy can be safely reopened.
As of Friday, more than 466,000 in the United States has tested positive for the virus — far more cases than any other country.
Last month, Fauci and other experts unveiled an estimated Coronavirus death of approximately 240,000 Americans, even if social distancing guidelines were stringently maintained. At the time, Dr. Fauci said an incomprehensible 2 million Americans could die if guidelines weren’t followed.
Dr. Fauci’s Coronavirus toll also assumes social distancing recommendations continue to be followed in the United States.
On Friday, Fauci told CNN that antibody tests could be available within a week. The test would verify whether a person recently had the novel coronavirus could be available within a week.
“Within a period of a week or so, we’re going to have a rather large number of tests that are available,” Fauci said.