It is “inexplicable” that some states in the U.S. are removing restrictions while Covid-19 continues to infect tens of thousands of Americans every day, said Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday.
Texas and Mississippi moved this week to end mask mandates across the state.
“It is simply unexplainable why you would want to back off now,” Fauci told CNN.
“I understand the need to want to get back to normal, but you will only be late if you completely ignore public health guidelines – especially when we are dealing with somewhere between 55,000 and 70,000 infections a day in the United States,” he added. “This is a very, very high baseline.”
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the government’s guidance on pandemic precautions is not arbitrary.
“We know that these interventions work. It’s very clear, ”said Fauci. “When you implement them, you see the cases drop. When you pull back, the cases increase ”.