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Anthony S. Fauci said Friday that it is a “danger” and “risky” for people to be gathering in large groups — whether at a Trump rally or a protest. The nation’s top infectious-disease expert advised on a podcast that if gatherings take place, people should “make sure” to wear a mask. President Trump plans to hold his first rally in months next week in Tulsa.
Meanwhile, across the South and West, coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. In Texas, more than 2,100 people in the state were hospitalized with covid-19 as of Friday, according to state data tracked by The Washington Post, and intensive care units are reportedly at 88 percent capacity in the Houston area. Arkansas reported 731 new cases, the largest since the pandemic began. And in North Carolina, cases topped 40,000 after its highest single-day increase.
“We continue to see a decrease in social distancing,” Mecklenburg County, N.C., health director Gibbie Harris said Friday, “and before long we will be back to where we were when we put the stay-at-home order in place.” Continue reading.