A top infectious disease expert said Sunday the United States is at a precarious point in the coronavirus outbreak.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Prevention in the University of Minnesota, said the effects of lifting lockdowns and large George Floyd protests are still unknown.
“I think what we have here today is, we’re not sure what’s happening,” he said. “We have 22 states where we have cases increasing, eight where it’s level and 21 states where it’s decreasing …we have to be humble and say we’re in an unsure moment.”
According to Osterholm, the coronavirus will persist until it infects 60% of the United States; it has now infected 5%, adding we’re close to the time where the effect of the virus on protest participants will be known.
“These next weeks, the two weeks are going to be the telling time, we just don’t know,” he said. “We’re not driving this tiger, we’re riding it.”
Yet, he said, a big drop in cases could also be worrisome.
“My biggest concern is if cases start to disappear across the country, suggesting we are in a trough” with a second wave ahead, he said.
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