Dr. Anthony Fauci said the number of projected coronavirus deaths might be lower than previously projected, thanks to social distancing.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases appeared Thursday on NBC and said that while this week has been brutal in terms of deaths, there are “glimmers of hope” as places such as New York start to see less growth in new cases and more stability.
Fauci and the White House coronavirus task force had previously predicted that about 100,000 to 240,000 people might die in the pandemic, but he told Today that the death toll might look “more like 60,000.”
“I think the American public have done a really terrific job of just buckling down and doing those physical separation and adhering to those guidelines,” he continued. “But having said that, we better be careful that we don’t say, okay, we’re doing so well we could pull back.”
“We still have to put our foot on the accelerator when it comes to the mitigation and the physical separation,” Fauci, who also offered some hope for the coming months and the ability for summer travel, added.
Despite the guarded optimism, both Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the task force, have cautioned about a “second wave” of infections if people begin leaving their homes or stop social distancing too soon.
