US coronavirus cases could hit ‘many millions’, a top health official tells Congress
- Anthony Fauci of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says US must limit foreign infections and ‘contain and mitigate within our own country’
- Hearing devolves into partisan crossfire over ‘politicising’ missteps in the government’s response to the outbreak
A leading US health official testified at a Congressional hearing on the coronavirus outbreak Wednesday that the number of people sickened by the virus in the US could hit “many millions” if appropriate steps were not taken.
“We will see more cases, and things will get worse than they are right now,” Dr Anthony Fauci – the widely respected director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – warned members of the House Oversight Committee.
“How much worse we'll get will depend on our ability to do two things: to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside, and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country.”
Also testifying were other senior officials including Robert Redfield, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Robert Kadlec, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services.
The hearing before the House Oversight Committee devolved into a partisan fray when Democrat and Republican members sparred over who was “politicising” missteps in the government’s response to the outbreak – including the delay in widespread testing that is now seen as a key reason for a nationwide surge in infections.
President Donald Trump’s public remarks and tweets were a key subject of contention, as Democrats harshly criticised the Republican for falsely claiming that a vaccine could be available in months and for his rambling news conference at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta last week.