As the United States continues to set new records for the daily number of new coronavirus cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the numbers are going to get worse in the coming weeks. Dr. Fauci told NBC's Savannah Guthrie on the Today show that we have not yet seen the peak from Thanksgiving-related travel and gatherings.
"May be a little bit of blip (right now), but we don't expect to see the full brunt of it between two and three weeks following Thanksgiving, so I think we have not yet seen the post-Thanksgiving peak," Dr. Fauci said. "That's the concerning thing because the numbers in and of themselves are alarming, and then you realize that it is likely we'll see more of a surge as we get two to three weeks past the Thanksgiving holiday."
Dr. Fauci said he is worried that the situation will only get worse during the Christmas season.
"The thing that concerns me is that abuts right on the Christmas holiday as people start to travel and shop and congregate, so that's the reason why we plead with them to please, as best as you can, uniform wearing of masks, keep distances to the best possible way you can, avoid crowds in congregate settings, particularly indoors, and if you are indoors in that circumstance, always wear your mask," he said.
As of Friday (December 4), the U.S. leads the world with more than 14 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 277,000 deaths.
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