Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, gave
answers
this Sunday
in contradiction
to statements by the president, Donald Trump, who shortly before defined as "very exaggerated" the numbers of infections and deaths from COVID-19 published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The agency points out that, as of this Sunday, at least 20 million people have been infected by the coronavirus in the United States and more than 349,000 have died.
Other counts, like that of our sister network NBC News, offer an even higher death toll, already in excess of 350,000.
"The deaths are real deaths," Fauci said on ABC.
"All you have to do is go to the trenches, go to the hospitals and see what the health workers are dealing with," he added.
"That is not false, it is real," he insisted
.
[One in five people on average tests positive for COVID-19 in Los Angeles]
"We have more than 300,000 deaths, we have an average of between 2,000 and 3,000 deaths per day," he said, returning to the same concept on Meet The Press, NBC News program.
"Those are real numbers, real people and real deaths," he repeated.
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Trump had tweeted on Sunday morning: "The number of cases and deaths from the virus in China [as the president calls the coronavirus, first detected in Wuhan, China] is greatly exaggerated in the United States due to the ridiculous method of determination [of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] compared to other countries ”.
The president has been
spreading incorrect information about the pandemic and minimizing its effects
for a long time throughout it from his position as president of the United States.
[Those killed by COVID-19 in one day exceed those of the attack on the Twin Towers]
Following Fauci's appearances to the press on Sunday, Trump again tweeted: “Dr. Fauci is revered by the irrelevant media as a great professional, having done, they say, such an incredible job, yet he works for me and the Trump Administration, and in no way am I given credit for my work, "he said.
Also the surgeon general, Jerome Adams, criticized the president's words
about the pandemic figures.
"From a public health perspective, I have no reason to doubt those figures," he said on CNN.
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Fauci added on Meet de Press that the pandemic "could and will likely get worse in the next two weeks," or "at least maintain this terribly high level of infections and deaths," as the United States feels all the effects of travel during Christmas festivities.
"This is what happens. It's terrible, it's unfortunate, but it was predictable," he said.
He also admitted that the country is "somewhat behind" in the vaccination campaign against COVID-19, but
preached patience
while the program continues.
"Hopefully we'll get some momentum and get back to where we want to be," he said.
With information from NBC News, ABC News and CNN.