WASHINGTON DC – While it may seem that North Carolina has reached a crucial milestone in the return of COVID-19 to normal this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci is expressing concern for states that have removed regulation from the limits of social life.
In an interview with Meet the Press presenter Chuck Todd, Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, advised caution because of what he feels is the premature lifting of restrictions between some states.
North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia eased major restrictions on Friday, as did Massachusetts, Arkansas and Wyoming. Several other states have eased some level of restrictions. The loosening of the rules came days after the nation passed the 500,000 COVID-19 death mark.
“We had a graph showing about a dozen states, some, like North Carolina, allowing more fans in the stands, we had more indoor bars open and things like that,” Todd began his line of questioning. “And you and Dr. [Rochelle] Walensky said ‘not yet’. Why not yet? Why is this week not yet the week to ease restrictions? “
“It is really too premature to be going too far now,” said Fauci, who has been in the public eye since the pandemic began. “I am concerned that we are still at that level of 70,000 [infections per day] and when people start to remove mitigation methods and activities, you run the risk, and it’s a real risk, of seeing it work again and it’s not something I’m imagining. Go back and look at the waves that we had last year, it was always a time when you wanted to retreat. “
“Because we’ve been in this situation before,” replied Fauci. “When you start to notice a drop in the number of cases, if you prematurely lift the restrictions, we have some examples of recovery.”
“Our baseline of daily infections now, although it is far below where it was, more than 300,000 a day, has dropped to around 70,000. That baseline is very high.”
A new executive order that took effect on Friday ended the curfew across the state and allows bars to occupy up to 30% of their internal capacity. Internal meetings went from 10 to 25 people. The average number of new cases in North Carolina is decreasing, with 2,636 new cases in the latest report, the lowest number since mid-November. The NC COVID-19 panel was not updated with new statistics on Sunday.
“Once you start to retreat, what you don’t want is to have a plateau at such a high level that things will inevitably rise again,” said Fauci. “That’s the reason. We understand the need and the desire, understandably, to want to step back because things are going in the right direction. You have to lower that baseline lower than it is now, especially in light of the fact that we have some worrying variants that are in places like California and New York and others that we’re looking at. It’s really very premature now. “
Earlier this week, high school football started in the state and some venues allowed fans. The UNC men’s basketball team played in front of nearly 3,000 fans in a victory against Florida State at the Smith Center on Saturday.
The Carolina Hurricanes expect to receive fans, about 2,800, at the PNC Arena for the next games. Governor Cooper’s latest executive order, which takes effect on Friday, will allow hurricanes and others to occupy up to 15% of their arena capacity.
With regard to what doesn’t change, the statewide mask requirement and the 6-foot separation orientation remain in effect and restaurants and breweries must adhere to a 50% capacity rule.
“Facilitating these restrictions will only work if we continue to protect ourselves and others from this deadly pandemic,” noted Cooper in announcing the request. “[This] action is a demonstration of confidence and trust, but we must remain cautious. “
“North Carolina’s health protocols were stronger than many states and the governor relied on science and data to cautiously ease restrictions and help boost our economy while still protecting public health,” said the press secretary of the Cooper Governor, Dory MacMillan, to WRAL on Sunday.