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Fauci says time to start 'inching' back toward normality
CGTN
Signage on a window of a coffee shop informs customer of their masking policy in San Francisco, California, U.S., February 15, 2022. /CFP

Signage on a window of a coffee shop informs customer of their masking policy in San Francisco, California, U.S., February 15, 2022. /CFP

Top U.S. infectious disease expert and chief medical advisor to the U.S. President, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday that it is time for America to start inching back towards normality, despite risks remaining from COVID-19.

Fauci said U.S. states are facing tough choices in their efforts to balance the need to protect their citizens from infections and the growing fatigue with a pandemic that has dragged into its third year.

"There is no perfect solution to this," said Fauci, President Joe Biden's top medical adviser and a key member of the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. health officials said they were preparing new COVID-19 guidance on many aspects of the virus response as the Omicron variant surge in cases declines.

That followed announcements by several states including New Jersey, New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware and Oregon that they were lifting mask mandates for schools or other public settings in the coming weeks.

"The fact that the world and the United States and particularly certain parts of the United States are just up to here with COVID - they just really need to somehow get their life back," said Fauci.

"You don't want to be reckless and throw everything aside, but you've got to start inching towards that."

Even with the positive trends, COVID-19 numbers remain high with some 2,200 Americans dying each day, most of them unvaccinated.

The current seven-day daily average of COVID-19 cases is about 147,000, a decrease of some 40 percent from the previous week, according to government data. Over the same period, hospital admissions fell about 28 percent to 9,500 per day.

Source(s): Reuters

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