Top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said coronavirus cases could grow to 100,000 a day in the country if Americans don't start following public health recommendations.
He made the remark on Tuesday at a Senate hearing on reopening schools and workplaces.
Asked to forecast the outcome of recent surges in some states, Fauci said he can't make an accurate prediction but believes it will be "very disturbing".
"We are now having 40-plus-thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around, and so I am very concerned," said Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health.
Fauci said areas seeing recent outbreaks are putting the entire nation at risk, including areas that have made progress in reducing COVID-19 cases. He cited recent video footage of people socialising in crowds, often without masks, and otherwise ignoring safety guidelines.
Meanwhile, The US government's top experts in infectious diseases have criticised American Airlines' decision to pack flights full while the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow across much of the US
"Obviously that is something that is of concern. I'm not sure what went into that decision making," Dr Anthony Fauci told a Senate panel on Tuesday. "I think in the confines of an airplane that becomes even more problematic." Several US airlines say they are limiting capacity on planes to between 60% and 67% of all seats. However, United Airlines never promised to leave seats empty.
