After the initial lockdown in the spring, the idea of shutting down the economy and forcing people to hunker down doesn’t sit well with many Americans. However, as we are currently in the midst of a major COVID-19 surge, with infections, hospitalizations, and deaths spiking across the country, it could be a reality. During a Facebook Live discussion with Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert and Director of the National Institutes of Health, revealed exactly what needs to happen to avoid another lockdown. Read on to hear his warning, and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You’ve Already Had Coronavirus.
“It May Come to Lock Down,” Says Dr. Fauci, Unless We All Pitch In
Fauci explained that one of the main issues with locking down is that people tend to throw in the towel. “The governor mentioned this idea about COVID fatigue — that if you locked down, you might actually discourage people enough that they just throw their hands up and say, you know, ‘Enough of this, I don’t want any part of this.'”
However, “It may come to lock down,” he admitted. “I think if you start to see overrunning of your hospitals and your healthcare systems, I can assure you that there will be serious consideration for lockdown.”
The only way to avoid the economy from shutting down is by following Fauci’s fundamentals. “What I’ve been saying now for weeks and weeks, if not months, is that you don’t have to resort to lock down if you uniformly do the four or five things that we talk about — the masks, the distance, the avoiding crowds, the indoor issues that you want to wear a mask, you want to do things more outdoors than indoors,” he explained.
We Must All Follow the Fundamentals, Says Fauci
“If everybody did that across the board, I will guarantee you that you will turn around the dynamics of the outbreak and you would not have to go to lock down.”
However, the main issue is that some people follow the fundamentals, while others don’t adhere to “interventions that we know work,” which can be demonstrated by individual states and countries.
“If you look at country for country or state for state, and you compare those that are comparable demographically, those that mitigate turn things around,” he pointed out. “Those that don’t, the projection of the outbreak continues, and that’s just a fact.” So follow Fauci’s fundamentals—wear a face mask, social distance, avoid large crowds, don’t go indoors with people you’re not sheltering with, practice good hand hygiene and to protect your life and the lives of others, and don’t visit any of these 35 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch COVID.