The lack of a unified plan for fighting the coronavirus pandemic has cost the country, according to both Dr. Anthony Fauci and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that after the surge of cases in the Northeast, specifically in the New York metropolitan area, the country did not have “everybody pulling in the same direction” when it came to “the kinds of things that could contain and slow down an outbreak,” such as physical distancing, mask wearing and closing bars where appropriate.
Fauci added that it’s “disturbing to me” that in parts of the country, “we’re starting to see the inkling of the upticks in the percent of the tests that are positive, which we know now, from sad past experience, that that’s a predictor that you’re going to have more surges.”
He said that “unless we all pull together to get that down” and also lessen disparities between states’ responses, “we’re going to continue to have this up-and-down.”
Speaking at a virtual panel discussion hosted by National Geographic, Bowser also called for a more unified response to the virus.
“It’s not too late to have a federal plan, to do a better job at testing, in supplies, in national guidance, whether it’s masks or travel advisories.”
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