Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, on Monday called Florida's full reopening of bars and restaurants "very concerning," fearing it will spark more coronavirus outbreaks.
The warning from Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, comes three days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that his state was going into Phase 3 of reopening, lifting all restrictions on restaurants and bars.
Now’s the time actually to double down a bit, and I don’t mean close.".
Florida residents are now testing positive at a rate of more than 10 percent, according to a rolling seven-day count by Johns Hopkins University.
But Florida Department of Health data shows that, as of Saturday, state residents are testing positive at a two-week rolling rate of just 4 percent.
The World Health Organization has set a benchmark of 5 percent before local governments consider reopening of businesses.
Fauci insisted he's not calling for universal shut downs, but just a dose of "common sense.". »