Washington
The nation is entering “a very vulnerable period” that could see the number of coronavirus deaths rise rapidly, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned in conversation with Yahoo News on Monday.
The warning comes at a time when the virus is already causing widespread devastation, averaging close to 1,500 deaths per day, according to the COVID Tracking Project. About 257,000 people have succumbed in the United States to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Asked if that number could double, Fauci expressed concern about the onset of colder weather and the “sequential holiday seasons” of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve.
Dr. Anthony Fauci. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) “You do the math on that,” Fauci said. “Two to three thousand deaths a day times a couple of months, and you’re approaching a really stunning number of deaths.”
Three thousand deaths per day for the next two months would bring the total number of American deaths to above 400,000, with plenty of devastation still ahead. Although coronavirus vaccinations will begin within a matter of weeks, the inoculations will not stem the viral tide in the near future. That means thousands more could die during the winter months, even as the end of the pandemic starts to come into view.
“It isn’t inevitable that that will happen,” said Fauci, a veteran of the HIV/AIDS epidemic whose previous dire predictions about the path of the coronavirus pandemic have come true. He said that people should not panic but ought instead to take basic precautions, such as seeing people outside the household in outdoor settings only and wearing masks.
“We can blunt the curve and blunt that trajectory, which is almost exponential,” he said. “It’s possible.” Fauci has been making that case more or less since the pandemic began, but he has routinely been undermined by President Trump, who has dismissed the coronavirus as a minor threat inflated by Democratic foes. He has turned face masks into an object of the divisive culture wars on which he thrives.
All those warnings from public health officials begging Americans to limit gatherings this holiday season amid a surge in coronavirus cases aren’t stopping the White House from planning a host of festivities and holiday parties in the midst of a pandemic.
Monday’s delivery of an 18-and-a-half-foot tall Fraser fir by horse-drawn carriage signaled the kickoff of the usual array of White House holiday events that will include the annual turkey pardon and Christmas and Hanukkah events.
“Attending the parties will be a very personal choice,” said Stephanie Grisham, first lady Melania Trump’s spokeswoman and chief of staff, referring to the plans. “It is a longstanding tradition for people to visit and enjoy the cheer and iconic décor of the annual White House Christmas celebrations.”
The decision to move forward with indoor gatherings and project a sense of normalcy comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, top White House advisers and public health professionals across the nation have been pleading with Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving or spend the holiday with people from outside of their households.—AP
