New York
Dr. Anthony Fauci warns the coronavirus pandemic “could get very bad,” the father of a Marine killed in Afghanistan in 2019 demands answers amid Russian bounty reports, and why Mississippi finally voted to change its flag.
New COVID-19 cases could “go up to 100,000 a day” if Americans continue to ignore guidance on social distancing and face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned a Senate committee on Tuesday.
The nation’s top infectious disease expert did not mince words in his testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions: “I’m very concerned, because it could get very bad,” he said.
With the rates of infection spiking across the country, health officials continue to urge everyone to do their part to control the spread by washing hands, maintaining physical distance and wearing masks.
Even Senate Republicans have begun distancing themselves from President Donald Trump on the mask issue.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., pleaded with lawmakers to stop politicizing masks at the start of the Senate hearing.
“Unfortunately, this simple lifesaving practice has become part of a political debate that says: If you’re for Trump, you don’t wear a mask. If you’re against Trump, you do,” Alexander said. “The president has millions of admirers. They would follow his lead. It would help end this political debate. The stakes are too high for it to continue.”
A national mask mandate could work better than lockdowns — and it could save the U.S. from a 5 percent hit to economic growth — according to a new report from the investment giant Goldman Sachs.—AP
