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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 13 May 2020
Fauci warns of ‘suffering and death’ if U.S. reopens too soon

Continued from Front force briefings the admini-
stration witnesses have all
More COVID-19 infections participated in. Most signi-
are inevitable as people ficantly, Trump did not con-
again start gathering, but trol the agenda.
how prepared communi- Eyeing the November elec-
ties are to stamp out those tions, the president has
sparks will determine how been urging on protesters
bad the rebound is, Fauci who oppose their state
told the senators. governors’ stay-at-home
“There is no doubt, even orders, while expressing his
under the best of circum- own confidence that the
stances, when you pull coronavrius will fade away
back on mitigation you will as summer advances and
see some cases appear,” Americans return to work
Fauci said. and other pursuits.
And if there is a rush to The U.S. has seen at least
reopen without following 1.3 million infections and
guidelines, “my concern nearly 81,000 confirmed
is we will start to see little deaths from the virus, the
spikes that might turn into highest toll in the world by
outbreaks,” he said. “The far, according to a tally by
consequences could be Johns Hopkins University.
really serious.” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., left, and Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., greet each other with an elbow bump Separately, one expert
In fact, he said opening too before the Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing, Tuesday, May from the World Health Or-
soon “could turn the clock 12, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy ganization has already
back,” and that not only and Infectious Diseases, is to testify before the committee. warned that some coun-
would cause “some suffe- Associated Press tries are “driving blind” into
ring and death that could A recent Associated Press demic way of conducting Murkowski and Connecti- reopening their economies
be avoided, but could review determined that 17 oversight. The senators run- cut Democrat Chris Murp- without having strong sy-
even set you back on the states did not meet a key ning the event, Alexander hy, personally attended stems to track new out-
road to try to get econo- White House benchmark and Democrat Patty Mur- the session in the hearing breaks.
mic recovery.” for loosening restrictions ray of Washington, were room. They wore masks, as And three countries that
Fauci was among the he- — a 14-day downward heads on video screens, did an array of aides buz- do have robust tracing sy-
alth experts testifying Tues- trajectory in new cases with an array of personal zing behind them. stems — South Korea, Ger-
day to the Senate panel, or positive test rates. Yet items in the background as The health committee many and China — have
as Trump has been praising many of those have begun they isolated back home. hearing offers a very diffe- already seen new out-
states that are reopening to reopen or are about to A few senators, such as rent setting from the White breaks after lockdown rules
after the prolonged lock- do so, including Alabama, Alaska Republican Lisa House coronavirus task were relaxed.q
down aimed at controlling Kentucky, Maine, Missis-
the virus’s spread. sippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Border closure leaves Alaska cut off
Committee chairman Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennes-
ring opened that “what our Of the 33 states that have from Canadian backyard
Alexander said as the hea-
see and Utah.
country has done so far in had a 14-day downward
testing is impressive, but not trajectory of either cases
nearly enough.” or positive test rates, 25 are ANCHORAGE, Alaska and various activities con- basically one community
(AP) — Some residents ducted across the border.
with two countries," said
Worldwide, the virus has partially opened or moving
infected nearly 4.2 mil- to reopen within days, the in Southeast Alaska who The U.S.-Canada border Wes Loe, Hyder's volun-
have seen the border with closed March 20 to all teer mayor and the owner
lion people and killed AP analysis found. Other
over 287,000 — more than states that have not seen a Canada closed because nonessential traffic and of its general store.
of the coronavirus feel the closure was recently Haines Mayor Jan Hill said
80,000 in U.S. alone. Asked 14-day decline, remain clo-
if the U.S. mortality count sed despite meeting some cut off from an area they extended to May 21. Yu- the border restriction is
kon has stringent travel re-
visit and drive through fre-
changing what residents
was correct, Fauci said, benchmarks.
strictions and quarantine do on a regular basis.
“the number is likely higher. Besides Fauci, of the Natio- quently. Skagway and requirements for anyone "Going across the border
Haines,
I don’t know exactly what nal Institutes of Health, the
percent higher but almost other experts include FDA Hyder all have been af- entering the territory until into Canada is just a part
fected by the COVID-19 it is no longer in a state of of our daily life," Hill said.
certainly it’s higher.” Commissioner Dr. Stephen
Fauci, a member of the Hahn and Dr. Robert Red- pandemic and resulting emergency. People in Haines "think of
border closure that has The border closure, which the Yukon as our back-
coronavirus task force field, head of the Centers
charged with shaping the for Disease Control and altered life dramatically could be extended yard," resident Leslie Ross
for some, The Anchor-
again, "can be prolonged said.
response to COVID-19, tes- Prevention — both in self-
tified via video conference quarantine—and Adm. age Daily News reported as necessary for public On a recent car trip with
health reasons," said Mark her daughter back to
Monday. The communi-
after self-quarantining as a Brett Giroir, the corona-
White House staffer tested virus “testing czar” at the ties are connected to the Stuart, Canada Border Haines, Ross showed an
rest of the state by the Services Agency spokes-
officer her passport and
positive for the virus. Department of Health and
With the U.S. economy in Human Services. Alaska Highway through man. registered to enter the
Canada and each place In Hyder, residents shop Yukon, agreeing to drive
free-fall and more than 30 The event Tuesday got
million people unemploy- underway in the commit- depends on its neighbor- for groceries and buy fuel through within 24 hours.
ing Canadian town for across the border in Stew-
"It was like a movie," Ross
ed, Trump has been anxi- tee’s storied hearing room,
ous to reopen states for but that’s about all that necessities such as food, art, British Columbia. said. "It didn't feel like we
business. remained of the pre-pan- health care and medicine "Stewart and Hyder are were in North America."q