Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, right, speaks during a news conference with members of the Coronavirus task force, including Vice President Mike Pence, left, at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, Friday, June 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:50 PM PT — Friday, June 26, 2020
The White House coronavirus task force has warned the nature of the coronavirus is changing. They emphasized young people are affecting how the virus spreads.
During the first task force meeting in nearly two months, Dr. Anthony Fauci updated the public on the virus. He has called on low-risk individuals to be cognizant of the virus.
The number of new cases in the U.S. hit a record high this week, surpassing 40,000.
“Likely the people that you see in the clips, in the paper, are out in crowds enjoying themselves. No blame there, understandably. But the thing that you really need to realize that when you do that, you are part of a process. So if you get infected, you will infect someone else, who clearly will infect someone else.” – Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
A sign on a clothing store reminds customers to wear masks Thursday, June 25, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The doctor believes young people are spreading the virus largely because they are asymptomatic and don’t think they can be carriers.
He noted this makes contact tracing more difficult, because it proliferates in community settings. He contrasted this with an outbreak setting, where officials can establish a path from person to person.
Fauci went on to stress everyone is interconnected and that outbreaks are not isolated incidents.
“You have an individual responsibility to yourself, but you have a societal responsibility if we want to end this outbreak,” he said. “Hopefully when a vaccine comes and puts the nail in the coffin, we’ve got to realize that we are part of the process.”
Lines of cars wait at a coronavirus testing site outside of Hard Rock Stadium, Friday, June 26, 2020, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
The surge has been particularly harsh in the South, where states like Texas and Florida have paused their reopening efforts.
In the meantime, task force officials have encouraged low-risk individuals to take proper precautions by wearing face masks and keeping their distance from one another.
READ MORE: White House Coronavirus Task Force Touts Decline In Virus Deaths, Addresses Spike In Positive Cases
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