Fauci Recommends a Second Lockdown in States With Increasing COVID-19 Cases

With the worsening conditions of coronavirus pandemic in the US, top health professionals in the country are emphasizing the need for imposing stricter restrictions once again. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a part of the White House Task Force has also recommended that states with rising cases should consider a second lockdown for coronavirus control.

The suggestion right after the week the US set a new record of daily coronavirus increases every single day in the past week. Till now, the country has also reported over fifty thousand new cases of coronavirus in a single day. These are some of the reasons why local governments halted reopening plans after coronavirus briefing meeting.

However, the plans for having a second lockdown conflict with the efforts by the president of the US, Donald Trump to reopen all states in the country as soon as possible. On Wednesday, Dr. Fauci still suggested against Trump’s plan, saying that any state who is in a serious situation and having tremendous increases every day should opt for a second lockdown.

The rise in coronavirus cases is expected to cause multiple problems including the lack of spaces in hospitals, further strain on the health care system of the US as well as shortages of medicines and personal protective equipment for health care workers.

Last week, hospitals in the city of Houston in Texas has already reported that space is no longer available specifically in the Intensive Care Unit for new coronavirus patients. Even though governors of the majority o the states stated that there is no more space and accommodation for coronavirus patients, the increase in cases is likely to fill up all the space in a short period of time.

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The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, had said that the state is more prepared with additional facilities for handling new coronavirus cases. At the same time, he insisted that new infections in the state are simply a result of an increase in testing for coronavirus.

However, a big number of new coronavirus hotspots have emerged with an increase in coronavirus transmission rates across different cities in the state. The Miami Dade County Police Department has reported that it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to control parties in Miami, which are a major contributor to the increase in cases in the past week.

Regardless of the new wave of coronavirus infection, the state of Florida continues to reopen businesses. On Sunday, it was also announced that the state will reopen schools and other educational institutes from August to start the new session. President Trump has supported the decision and urges schools to reopen across the country.

Therefore, the possibility of federal or local governments of following Dr. Facui’s recommendation and imposing a second lockdown for coronavirus in the upcoming months is not very high. If the states continue to reopen, the next few months are likely to be very challenging for the local population as well as health care professionals in the country.