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US Grapples With Coronavirus Surge

VOA News

   With the number of new confirmed coronavirus cases each dayin the
   United Statesabout double the levels of a month ago, thecountry'stop
   infectious disease expert is calling the state of the outbreak "really
   not good."

   In an online conference call Monday,Dr. Anthony Fauci,director National
   Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, cited the spike in cases
   after U.S. states lifted many restrictions put in place to try to stop
   the spread of the disease.

   He compared the situation to what is happening in Europe, where
   countries have seen some increases in cases followingreopenings,
   butthoseoccurred after a huge drop from the levels seen at the peak of
   the outbreak.

   "We went up, never came down to baseline, and now we're surging back
   up.Soit's a serious situation that wehave toaddress immediately," Fauci
   said.

   The number of confirmed cases has been rising in about 40 of the 50
   U.S. states, witha higherpercentage of tests coming back positive and
   hospital systemswarning of beds filling up.

   In a letter Monday, three top U.S. medical organizations -- the
   American Medical Association,American Nurses Association and American
   Hospital Association -- urged Americans to wear masks, observe social
   distancing guidelines and wash their hands.

   The groups called the coronavirus outbreak "the worst public health
   crisis in generations" and said the preventive steps backed by health
   officialsmonths ago"were too quickly abandoned."

   "We are not powerless in this public health crisis, and we can defeat
   it in the same way we defeated previous threats to public health -- by
   allowing science and evidence to shape our decisions and inform our
   actions," the letter said.

   White House chief of staff Mark Meadows reiterated Monday in an
   interview withthe cable news networkFox News that the Trump
   administration is leaving decisions on coronavirus restrictions up to
   state and local leaders instead of the federal government.

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