Fauci: Best way to reopen economy is to avoid a rebound of virus

Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, warned state officials Wednesday that the coronavirus could rebound if they moved too quickly in reopening their economies. 

“The one way not to reopen the economy is to have a rebound that we can’t take care of,” Fauci said at a White House news briefing. 

Fauci specifically urged Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who plans to reopen a number of businesses in the state, including barber shops and tattoo parlors, not to move too quickly.

“If I were advising the governor, I would tell him that he should be careful” and that he should not be “leapfrogging into phases” where he should not be, Fauci said.

President Trump, who over the weekend seemingly supported protests against stay-at-home orders across the country, was on the same page as Fauci on Georgia, saying Wednesday that he disagreed with Kemp.

“I want him to do what he thinks is right, but I disagree with him on what he’s doing,” Trump said.

Fauci said physical distancing has helped slow the spread of the virus and that “we can now think seriously about reopening America.” 

But he said reopening the economy must be done in a “measured” way in accordance with White House guidelines released last week.  

If governors are not careful in reopening, Fauci warned, the virus could rebound. 

“We will have coronavirus in the fall. I am convinced of that,” he said. 

Fauci said the virus will definitely be back in the fall but that the response can be better and help make the outbreak less severe.

“In the fall, we will be much much better prepared,” he said.