It's not necessary for the United States to hit the reset button and shut down the country for a second time, even though coronavirus cases are spiraling in several states, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday, while disagreeing with 150 key medical experts who have sent the Trump administration a letter calling for a "reset."
"You could put a pause on what you are doing or maybe even take a step back," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "If certain states or cities are in phase two of the guidelines of opening America again, you might want to either pause or go back to phase one, or if you are in phase one go back to the gateway component of the guideline."
Fauci said that another lockdown always has to be left on the table, but he thinks that the surge can be stopped "by just being a bit more cautious."
Meanwhile, there has been a great deal of speculation about the relationship between Fauci, a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and President Donald Trump, but Fauci said he agrees with Trump that they have a good relationship.
"We've always had and still to this day have a good relationship," said Fauci. "I'm sure if you asked the president, he would say the same thing. And he's being honest about it."
He also said he was not involved in Trump's decision to cancel the Republican National Convention events in Jacksonville, although he agrees.
"It's no secret around the White House how I and my federal task force members feel about the issue of congregating in crowds," said Fauci. "I believe he and others in the White House have heard us speak about that so I would hope that that had some influence in the decision."
The doctor also talked about the wild pitch he threw Thursday night while opening the Major League Baseball season in Washington, calling the experience "humbling and awesome."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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