Fauci calls Florida's removal of coronavirus restrictions 'very concerning'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday said that he is concerned about the repeal of coronavirus restrictions in Florida.

The Sunshine State has eliminated statewide restrictions on businesses including restaurants and also prohibited local governments from extracting fines from people who do not wear facial masks.

When asked about Florida's move to lift restaurant and bar restrictions Fauci, who also serves on the White House coronavirus task force, described the decision as "very concerning to me."

"Because when you're dealing with community spread and you have the kind of congregate setting where people get together, particularly without masks, you're really asking for trouble," he explained. 

"Now's the time actually to double down a bit, and I don't mean close," he said. "We're not talking about shutting anything down. We're talking about common sense type of public health measures that we've been talking about all along."

According to Johns Hopkins University there have been more than 7.1 million COVID-19 cases so far in the U.S. and nearly 205,000 deaths.