Coronavirus infects 20,000 people in the US every day. Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says it is “on the cusp of losing control."
New coronavirus outbreaks emerge in several states across the American South and West, and these areas are already deemed critical.
“The question is ‘can we keep this from getting out of control.’ This is a virus that wants to infect a very large portion of the population,” Gottlieb told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“They’re on the cusp of losing control of those outbreaks in certain parts of those states. Arizona, Houston, Austin, parts of Florida certainly look very concerning right now," he added.
Coronavirus cases have been gradually multiplying since Memorial Day weekend in a number of states. These include Florida, Arizona, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas and others. In Arizona, some hospitals are almost full. The state announced that 85% of hospital beds are already occupied, a record high for the state.
“These are outbreaks. We’re seeing doubling times now falling under 10 days,” Gottlieb said. “These are on the cusp of getting out of control. I think these states still have a week or two to take actions to try to get these under control.”
More testing
Meanehile, state officials explain potential reasons behind the sudden increase of Covid-19 cases. Some stressed that it happened due to more testing. However, in Arizona and some other states, the percent of people who tested positive for the coronavirus has increased along with the number of confirmed cases.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mentioned this week that the coronavirus is likely being transmitted through young people who are not observing precautions like social distancing and mask wearing.
In addition, he noted that clusters in prisons and hiccups in local data reporting can also explain the rise in Texas’ Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations.
“We expected cases to go up as we reengaged in social activity, but it’s gone up more than we predicted,” Gottlieb said.
“Certain states have been slower to reopen. Other states have been much more aggressive. The states that were aggressive are the states where we’re seeing these outbreaks right now.”
Targeted containment measures
Gottlieb recommends targeted containment measures in responding to the new outbreaks. This may involve altering some previously aggressive reopening steps like allowing bars to operate at 50% capacity in Texas.
Health experts are equipped with tools to fight outbreaks now than they did a couple months ago. Gottlieb addded that more widespread testing and early stage contact tracing can help authorities detect the sources of infection and manage interventions.
Some state officials are rethinking their reopening strategies .Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday changed his stance against asking everyone to wear a mask and allowing officials to set their own legislation. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said on Wednesday that most of the population must don masks in public starting June 24 as cases of Covid-19 continue to rise.
However, Gottlieb said he is worried about “the lack of political will” for officials to constantly direct proven interventions like social distancing and mask wearing.
“I’m more concerned than I was three weeks ago heading into the fall,” he said. “Unless we get comfortable taking some common sense measures, where we can, some limited measures, we’re going to be stuck with a lot more spread.”
