Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, would not rule out drastic measures, including a complete U.S. shutdown, when it comes to fighting the coronavirus outbreak.
Fauci, a member of the government's coronavirus task force, made his comments in interviews on Friday on “Good Morning America” and “CBS This Morning.”
'It's certainly going to get worse before it gets better,” he said. “There's no doubt we have not peaked yet."
He was asked directly on “Good Morning America” if the U.S. was going to have to face a complete shutdown like China and Italy.
“It’s very difficult to predict,” he said. “I’m not sure we’re going to get to that. I think that would be really rather dramatic, but I can tell you that all things are on the table.
"We just have to respond as things evolve over the days and over the weeks."
Fauci said it will take some time to battle the virus in the U.S.
“It’s going to be at least a matter of several weeks,” he said. “I mean, it’s unpredictable. But if you look historically at how these things work, it will likely be anywhere from a few weeks to up to eight weeks or more.
“I hope it’s going to be in the earlier part – let’s say two, three, four weeks. But it’s really impossible to make an accurate prediction.
And he told CBS News: “With regard to disruption of everyday life, we have not seen that before. We've not had this kind of a situation before.”
In an interview with Fox News, Fauci said now that the private sector is involved in developing coronavirus testing there will be a “major escalation” of getting tests out to people who want them.
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