Fauci: U.S. doesn't need another lockdown to survive coronavirus

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, says the U.S. can avoid having another extended shutdown to control the virus, but Americans must follow basic health-safety measures to achieve that goal.

"You don't have to lock down again, but everybody has got to be on board for doing these five or six fundamental public health measures" like masks and social distancing, Fauci told Politico's "Pulse Check" podcast on Wednesday. 

Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, spoke amid a spike in virus cases that recently emerged in the South and Southwest and has moved into other parts of the country. The country's shutdown this spring to control the virus at the height of the pandemic was effective, but it drastically slowed the economy and shuttered other major components of the country, including in-class learning. 

Fauci also said in the podcast that Americans are facing a "concerted challenge" in trying to control the resurgent virus outbreak.

"I think we can get through this without having to revert back to a shutdown," he said, citing the fundamentals of uniformly wearing masks, physical distancing, avoiding crowds and washing one's hands.