Things Are Going to Get Worse, Says Fauci as Delta Variant Causes Surge in Cases

The US has recorded the highest number of single-day Covid-19 cases since February, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As many as 101,171 new cases were recorded in the country on July 30. The report comes amid rising fears that the highly contagious Delta variant would significant threat to the country in the near term.

Hospitalizations and Deaths Rise

It has also been reported that Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have also been once again creeping up in the country. According to the CDC update, the seven-day average of daily Covid cases rose 64.1 per cent compared with the previous seven-day average.

Covid Delta Variant
Covid Delta Variant Wikimedia Commons

Meanwhile, Anthony Fauci said he does not expect the US to see another lockdowns even though the Delta variant is posing risk.

"I don't think we're going to see lockdowns ... I think we have enough of the percentage of people in the country - not enough to crush the outbreak - but I believe enough to not allow us to get into the situation we were in last winter," the President's chief medical adviser said.

Vaccination

However, Fauci, who is also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said "things are going to get worse" given the speed with which the Delta variant is spreading in the country.

Dr Anthony Fauci
Dr Anthony Fauci at the White House Twitter/ White House

"We have 100 million people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who are not getting vaccinated," told ABC News, according to Reuters.

Virologists have said that the Delta variant, which was first detected in India, is as contagious as chickenpox. It is more contagious than the common flu.

According to data released by the CDC, the Delta variant has quickly moved from a marginal source of infection to the most dominant strain in the recent days. The CDC website says that the variant has grown from less than 1 percent of cases in May to more than 80 per cent currently.

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