Fauci warns coronavirus 'isn't over yet,' raised concerns about demonstrations causing spread

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top member of the White House coronavirus task force, is issuing a stern warning about maintaining health-safety measures for the coronavirus, as some Americans grow weary of wearing masks and amid U.S. streets packed for George Floyd demonstrations. 

“The issue of physical separation is important, Fauci, also the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Masks can help, but it’s masks plus physical separation. And when you get congregations like we saw with the demonstrations, like we have said – myself and other health officials – that’s taking a risk. “Unfortunately, what we’re seeing now is just an example of the kinds of things we were concerned about.”

Fauci spoke after reports that members of the D.C. National Guard tested positive for the virus after being activated to restore order to the demonstration in the nation’s capital that had become violent and destructive. 

He also expressed concerns that those who traveled to attend the higher-profile demonstrations in New York and Washington, D.C., could bring back the virus and re-emphasized the importance of wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing. 

The U.S. now has 1.98 million cases and 112,006 virus-related deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. 

“When is it going to end?" Fauci said Tuesday during a BIO Digital virtual health-care conference about the pandemic. “It really is very complicated. So we're just at almost the beginning of really understanding. … it isn’t over yet.”