America’s top infectious disease expert said a national lockdown in the United States remains a possibility as the Trump administration contends with the growing coronavirus pandemic.
“That could be, absolutely, that could be,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said about closing bars and restaurants nationwide during a White House news briefing on Sunday.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the White House coronavirus task force, announced at the news conference that new “broad recommendations for the public” would be coming from the federal government on Monday, although it is unclear what that guidance might entail.
“What I don’t want to do is, I don’t want to, you know, jump ahead of the guidance. I promise you, let the guidance come out. We’ll be here every day. I’ll answer the question after the guidance,” Fauci said after being asked about specifics on what is to come.
Last week, Italy expanded a lockdown to the entire country as thousands there tested positive for coronavirus, and hundreds have died. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called it an “unprecedented” move meant to contain the growing outbreak better. All travel in the country is now banned except in cases of emergency, and all sporting events have been canceled. Additionally, all public gatherings of any kind are prohibited.
The U.S. has not gone that far, but governors in Ohio and Illinois, California, and other states and local leaders have begun announcing closures or restrictions of bars and restaurants as well as instituting bans on large gatherings. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sunday that the public school system in the Big Apple, the largest in the country, would be shut down.
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