Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious-disease expert, has told the Financial Times of the serious conditions that Americans are now facing. 

As the coronavirus is making a comeback in the country after a nationwide lifting of lockdowns, a large number of states begin shutting back down to limit the further spread of the virus. 

"I don't think it's an exaggeration to say we have a serious ongoing problem, right now, as we speak," said Fauci, who warned Congress late last month that the number of new cases could reach 100,000 a day. 

Speaking to the Financial Times last week, Fauci said what made him worry was that the case counts were still trending upward exponentially.

Reviewing the problems that caused this new wave of coronavirus resurgence, Fauci said that many states started opening up before their cases got down to a baseline level where new cases could easily be tracked. "I think we have to realize that some states jumped ahead of themselves. Other states did it correctly," he said. "But the citizenry didn't listen to the guidelines, and they decided they were going to stay in bars and go to congregations of crowds and celebrations."

In May, reviews by U.S. media indicated that most states that reopened failed to meet the minimum criteria recommended by the White House.

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Now that some states are re-implementing a lockdown to contain the outbreak, Fauci said the measure would not be well received by the public, but he stressed that young people in particular need to be reminded of the contagious nature of the disease.

Fauci also went on to indicate the side effects of individual rights during the pandemic. Not trusting authority has been taken to an "extreme", he said, as it fueled a movement against science and authority and helped form "the foundation for the anti-vaccine movement, that we don't trust what the government is telling us. That is very, very problematic right now."

Since COVID-19 broke out in the U.S., the Trump administration has always been at loggerheads with scientists over the country's coronavirus containment policies.

In Fauci's revelation to the Financial Times, the president, who appears to be heavily invested in his presidential campaign, hadn't met him for more than a month. 

Commenting on the infrequent appearances he made before reporters, Fauci said he has "a reputation... of speaking the truth at all times and not sugar-coating things", and that's why he wasn't on TV very much lately.

On Friday, Trump called Fauci "a little bit of an alarmist" in an interview on "Fox News Sunday" after members of his administration had criticized Fauci. 

But being on the opposing side of experts has been one of Trump's signature move. He has capitalized on the public's dislike towards the "patronizing" experts, especially if their advice is to shut everything down and inevitably sacrifice their personal freedom.

When asked whether he spoke out against Trump's recommendation that injecting disinfectant could help to treat Covid-19, Fauci deflected the question but said that Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, "was put in the uncomfortable position of sitting there when he(Trump) said that."

Before the end of the interview with the Financial Times, Fauci did not forget to reiterate the seriousness of the deadly disease. 

"You have a random virus jump species from an animal to a human that is spectacularly efficient in spreading from human to human, and has a high degree, relatively speaking, of morbidity and mortality," said Fauci. "We are living in the perfect storm right now."