파우치 "미국 코로나 대응, 앞으로 2주가 중요…검사는 늘릴 것"
With the U.S. trying to reopen its economy after coronavirus-enforced lockdowns, the country is experiencing a surge in new cases of COVID-19.
A top U.S. health official says that the next two weeks will be critical and that President Trump has not ordered less testing.
Our Kim Do-yeon has the full story.
U.S. top disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says the next couple weeks will be critical in addressing the new surge of COVID-19 transmissions in the country.
Testifying before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce along with three other top health officials on Tuesday local time, Dr. Fauci said the recent surge, especially in states like Texas, Florida and Arizona, is "troubling".
Last Friday alone, the U.S. recorded more than 30-thousand new infections.
Dr. Fauci pointed towards transmissions within communities as one of the reasons behind the recent spike.
He also said the U.S.' current response to the virus is a "mixed bag" as different parts of the country have seen different results.
"For example, the New York metropolitan area, which has been hit extraordinarily hard, has done very well in bringing the cases down... However, in other areas of the country, we're now seeing a disturbing surge of infections."
He and other officials denied that President Trump has ordered a decrease in testing.
On Saturday at a political rally, Trump claimed that more testing at an advanced rate has led to the surge in cases.
"To my knowledge, I know for sure, but to my knowledge, none of us have ever been told to slow down on testing. That just is a fact. In fact, we will be doing more testing."
Dr. Fauci also added that he felt positive about the current status of vaccine development... saying that one could be available as early as the beginning of 2021.
As of Wednesday, the U.S. has nearly two-point-five million cases of COVID-19 with more than one-hundred-twenty-thousand deaths.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News