Texas Lt Gov dismisses Fauci after infection predictions

The lieutenant governor of Texas has said Anthony Fauci ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about’ after the infectious disease chief warned the United States could see 100,000 new cases a day.

Dan Patrick, a former talk radio host, spoke hours after Dr Fauci told a Senate hearing that the U.S. was on a worrying path.

‘I am very concerned,’ said Fauci on Tuesday, with about 40,000 new cases being reported a day.

He said he ‘would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around.’ 

But Patrick dismissed Fauci’s warnings, saying the doctor had been ‘wrong every time, on every issue.’ 

Dan Patrick, lieutenant governor of Texas, said Fauci ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about’

The U.S. now has more than 40,000 new infections each day, the July 1 data shows

The U.S. now has more than 40,000 new infections each day, the July 1 data shows

Infections are rising rapidly mostly in parts of the West and South, and Fauci and other public health experts said Americans everywhere will have to start following key recommendations if they want to get back to more normal activities like going to school.

‘We’ve got to get the message out that we are all in this together,’ by wearing masks in public and keeping out of crowds, said Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health.  

Texas on Tuesday reported a record-breaking daily increase in coronavirus cases, with 6,975 new infections identified.

There have been 127,000 deaths in the U.S.

There have been 127,000 deaths in the U.S.

Patrick told Fox News that he rejected Fauci’s recommendations. 

‘Locking down doesn’t work!’ he said. 

‘If it did, those two states [California and New York] would be doing better than Texas. 

‘Fauci said today that he’s concerned about states like Texas that skipped over certain things. 

‘He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! We haven’t skipped over anything. 

‘The only thing I’m skipping over is listening to him.

‘He has been wrong every time, on every issue. I don’t need his advice anymore. We’ll listen to a lot of science, a lot of doctors, but no thank you, Dr Fauci.’  

Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified on Tuesday

Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified on Tuesday

Arizona, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee were the states that saw the largest increases in deaths in the past week

Arizona, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee were the states that saw the largest increases in deaths in the past week

Texas has had 2,421 people die from the virus, Patrick said.

The Fox News host, Laura Ingraham, said that she had heard the ICU wards were full of people who did not have COVID.

Patrick said 1,500 beds out of 7,177 were taken by COVID patients. 

‘We step back on the bars, which I think was the right condition. All these people are young, who are getting ill.

‘In my view the worst thing we could do is lock down again.’  

Tubers prepare to float the Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas, on June 25

Tubers prepare to float the Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas, on June 25

People gather on Sixth Street in downtown Austin, Texas on May 23. Bars have now closed

People gather on Sixth Street in downtown Austin, Texas on May 23. Bars have now closed

U.S. infections have increased by 80 per cent over the past two weeks.

Diagnoses almost doubled last week with 31 states reporting an uptick in cases – as Arizona became the latest hot spot to reverse its reopening by closing bars and gyms.  

COVID-19 cases across the US increased by 46 percent in the week ending June 28, compared to the previous seven days, with the majority of rises in the West and South of the country.  

Nationally, new cases have consistently spiked every week for four straight weeks. Daily cases have been increasing to record highs of 40,000 in the past week – well above the initial surge of infections that were seen back in mid-April. 

Infections across the U.S. have now surpassed 2.6 million and more than 127,000 Americans have died since the virus took hold in March.

President Donald Trump has put the surge in new cases down to increased testing and has pointed to low death rates across the country as a sign that the pandemic is not out of control.

Part of the 46 per cent increase in cases in the past week can be attributed to a 9 per cent expansion in testing over that time frame.  

While cases continues to spike, deaths are showing a downward trend across the country. 

Arizona, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee were the states that saw the largest increases in deaths in the past week. 

In Arizona, deaths increased by 62 per cent after recording 249 new fatalities in a week, bringing the death toll to 1,588. 

More than 2.6 million people in the United States have contracted coronavirus

More than 2.6 million people in the United States have contracted coronavirus

The number of deaths is also worrying health experts, who had hoped it was going to drop

The number of deaths is also worrying health experts, who had hoped it was going to drop

Health officials have warned, however, that the death rate could potentially shoot back up again because fatality rates often lag behind infection rates. 

They also point to the current trend of young adults making up the majority of new cases.

Officials say people under 35 years old have been going to bars, parties and social events without masks, becoming infected and then spreading the disease to older, more vulnerable people. 

Florida followed Texas and ordered all bars to close on Friday and has shut down beaches ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend.

In Texas, a group of bar owners sued on Monday to try to overturn Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s order closing their businesses. 

They contend Abbott doesn’t have the authority, and they complained that other businesses, such as nail salons and tattoo studios, remain open.

‘Gov. Abbott continues to act like a king,’ said Jared Woodfill, attorney for the bar owners. 

‘Abbott is unilaterally destroying our economy and trampling on our constitutional rights.’

But Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, said that Abbott is on the right path, and he added that Trump should order the wearing of masks.

‘States that were recalcitrant are doing a 180, and you have the same states now wearing masks,’ Cuomo said. 

‘Let the president have the same sense to do that as an executive order, and then let the president lead by example and let the president put a mask on it, because we know it works.’ 

On Monday Dr Anne Schuchat, deputy director of the CDC, said that the virus was now spreading too rapidly to control. 

‘We have way too much virus across the country. It’s very discouraging,’ she told The Journal of the American Medical Association.

‘This is really the beginning. 

‘I think there was a lot of wishful thinking around the country that, hey it’s summer. Everything’s going to be fine. We’re over this – and we are not even beginning to be over this. 

‘There are a lot of worrisome factors about the last week or so.’ 

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