Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Monday ascribed the surge in U.S. coronavirus cases to the country's failure to shut down completely, then a rush to reopen too soon, and urged a commitment to guidelines to snuff out the disease. He stressed basic protections including physical distancing, wearing masks, avoiding crowds and washing hands. Fauci, who has issued firm warnings during the coronavirus surge, encouraged states to follow specific guidelines put forth by White House coronavirus health experts laying out distinct phases for easing restrictions. "We started to come down and then we plateaued at a level that was really quite high - about 20,000 infections a day. "Unfortunately, it did not work very well for us," Fauci said, citing well publicized incidents of people crowding into bars or not wearing masks at close quarters.

Source: The Star July 13, 2020 18:45 UTC