Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top doctor for the White House and the nation’s top infectious disease expert, expressed concern on Friday as he believes that overextending lockdowns will lead to “irreplaceable harm and worse health conditions,” Business Insider reported.
“We can’t stay locked down for such a considerable period of time that you might do irreplaceable damage and have unintended consequences, including consequences for health, ” Dr. Fauci said to CNBC.
In the beginning, Dr. Fauci labeled the lockdown measures as a necessity if the country ever wanted to slow down the spread of the virus. Yet, as time has progressed, Fauci supports the idea of normality and agrees that many parts of the country are ready for a steady reopening, as long as social distancing guidelines are followed. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“Now is the time, depending upon where you are and what your situation is, is to begin seriously looking at reopening the economy, reopening the country to try and get back to some degree of normal,” he said. “I don’t want people to think that any of us feel that staying locked down for a prolonged period of time is the way to go.”
Slowly but surely, reopening are going on across the country. Despite Republican lawmakers lobbying against the reopening, Dr. Fauci is enthusiastic about getting society and the economy back to a “morale standpoint.” He is still, however, worried about large gatherings and urged to limit crowds.
“There are obviously some situations where people might be jumping over that. I just say proceed with caution if you’re going to do that.”
The novel coronavirus along with reopenings still has ways to come. But, in an interview with NPR Friday, Dr. Fauci did confirm that it is “conceivable that a vaccine could come by the end of the year.”
