In a Jan. 3 interview with Meet the Press, Fauci admitted that California’s recent surge in COVID cases may merit a new wave of lockdowns. “In California, which is really being stressed with regard to the hospital beds and the personnel who are really getting exhausted with the number of cases that are coming in…they already have decided on some form of lockdown in specific areas of the state,” Fauci said. While the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said he “[hoped] we don’t have to do the lockdown” nationwide, he said it’s “not out of the question,” either. “We feel that if you adhere to the public health measures, you can turn things around short of a uniform lockdown,” Fauci explained. He noted that, even with the new, more contagious COVID strain that’s been recently identified in the U.S., sticking to mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing guidelines established by public health authorities is the best course of action to stop its spread further. “You’ve got to adhere to the public health measures,” said Fauci. “And that will stop the spread of any strain.” To those who have expressed disbelief over the rise in new infections and deaths, Fauci had one message: “We have well over 300,000 deaths. We’re averaging 2,000 to 3,000 deaths per day… Those are real numbers, real people, and real deaths.” Also on Jan. 3, Fauci sat down with ABC News’ This Week and added, “All you need to do is to go out into the trenches, go to the hospitals, see what the health care workers are dealing with. They are under very stressed situations in many areas of the country, the hospital beds are stretched. People are running out of beds, running out of trained personnel who are exhausted right now. That’s real. That’s not fake. That’s real.” While California may be bearing some of the brunt of new infections in the U.S., it’s not the only state that’s currently in the red, according to data from COVID Act Now, as of Jan. 4. Read on to discover which states are currently experiencing the worst COVID outbreaks. And if you want to know if you could be sick, check out This Is the “Strongest, Most Consistent” Sign You Have COVID, Study Says. Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 76.9ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Infection rate: 1.08 Positive test rate: 20 percent Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 79.3 Infection rate: 0.96 Positive test rate: 8 percent And for insight into the new COVID strain that’s cause for concern, check out The One Scary Thing All 3 Cases of the New COVID Variant Have in Common. Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 82.5 Infection rate: 1.06 Positive test rate: 13.7 percent And for the latest COVID news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 82.9 Infection rate: 1.01 Positive test rate: 23.4 percent And for more updates from the nation’s leading health agency, check out The CDC Just Confirmed This Disorder Could Put You at Risk of Severe COVID. Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 84.7 Infection rate: 1.04 Positive test rate: 16.4 percent Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 88 Infection rate: 1.05 Positive test rate: 14.2 percent And if you’re curious if you’ve silently battled the virus, check out If You Have This Subtle Symptom, You Might Have Already Had COVID. Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 90 Infection rate: 1.04 Positive test rate: 26.1 percent Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 92.2 Infection rate: 0.91 Positive test rate: 19.3 percent And for more on what you don’t need to do anymore to stay safe, check out The One Thing You Can Stop Doing to Avoid COVID, According to Doctors. Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 96.4 Infection rate: 0.99 Positive test rate: 15.5 percent Daily new cases per 100,00 people: 121.5 Infection rate: 1.09 Positive test rate: 22 percent And for more insight into COVID numbers near you, This Is How Bad the COVID Outbreak Is in Your State.
