Dr. Fauci: U.S. will have to deal with 'a whole lot of hurt' with COVID in next few weeks

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on July 31, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

The government's top infectious diseases expert is cautioning that the U.S. will have to deal with "a whole lot of hurt" in the weeks ahead due to surging coronavirus cases. Dr. Anthony Fauci's comments in a Washington Post interview take issue with President Donald Trump's frequent assertion that the nation is "rounding the turn" on the virus.

Fauci says the U.S. "could not possibly be positioned more poorly" to stem rising cases as more people gather indoors during the colder fall and winter months. He says the U.S. will need to make an "abrupt change" in public health precautions.

Speaking of the risks, Fauci says he believes Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden "is taking it seriously from a public health perspective," while Trump is "looking at it from a different perspective." Fauci, who's on the White House coronavirus task force, says that perspective is "the economy and reopening the country."

In response, White House spokesman Judd Deere says Trump always puts people's well-being first and Deere charges that Fauci has decided "to play politics" right before Tuesday's election.

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