Disease expert says reopening too quickly will backfire

A nurse in PPE speaks to a resident at the Wren Hall care home in Nottingham, Monday, April 20, 2020. AP visited a care home in Nottingham where 10 of their 54 residents have succumbed to coronavirus. Leading British charities said the new coronavirus is causing "devastation" in the country's nursing homes, as official statistics show that hundreds more people with COVID-19 have died than are recorded in the U.K. government's daily tally. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) A nurse in PPE speaks to a resident at the Wren Hall care home in Nottingham, Monday, April 20, 2020. AP visited a care home in Nottingham where 10 of their 54 residents have succumbed to coronavirus. Leading British charities said the new coronavirus is causing "devastation" in the country's nursing homes, as official statistics show that hundreds more people with COVID-19 have died than are recorded in the U.K. government's daily tally. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

By Associated Press April 20, 2020 1 min read

WASHINGTON – The top infectious-disease expert in the United States has a message for protesters who are ignoring their governors’ stay-at-home orders and calling for him to be fired over his guidelines.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says the message is “this is something that is hurting from the standpoint of economics, from the standpoint of things that have nothing to do with the virus.”

He added on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that “unless we get the virus under control, the real recovery economically is not gonna happen. So what you do if you jump the gun and go into a situation where you have a big spike, you’re gonna set yourself back.”

Fauci says as painful as it is to follow guidelines of gradually phasing into a reopening “it’s gonna backfire. That’s the problem.”

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