Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the lead scientists working with the Trump administration’s coronavirus response effort, said Friday that disruptions to everyday life in the U.S. could last up to eight weeks.
According to The Hill, Fauci told GMA that “It’s going to be at least a matter of several weeks.”
Several cities and states have already banned large gatherings. Businesses are requiring their workers stay at home, and Americans are generally being strongly encouraged to limit their movements in an effort to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
“I mean it’s unpredictable, but if you look at historically, how these things work, it’ll likely be anywhere from a few weeks up to eight weeks or more,” he said, adding that he hopes it’s going to be only two, three or four weeks at the most.
“It’s really impossible to make an accurate prediction,” Fauci said.
The “social distancing” measures being introduced are crucial to slowing down the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring that hospitals are not completely overwhelmed by an onslaught of affected patients.
By attempting to delay the spread of this outbreak over a longer period of time, public health and medical officials can allow themselves more time to prepare, including getting more resources and equipment to ensure that everyone who needs the care will be able to get it.
While more than 1,700 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. so far, including large outbreaks of community spread in Washington state, California, and New York, Fauci said the U.S. has not yet peaked in terms of our number of cases.
“We’re at a critical point now — more in some regions of the country than in others — but in general, the kinds of things that are going on will hopefully make that blunting of that peak so that we could save a lot of lives,” Fauci said.
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