Anthony Fauci has asked the American public to trust medical authorities about Coronavirus. In a thinly veiled rebuke of the President, Fauci criticized “political nonsense”.
Fauci made the remarks during an address to graduates of Georgetown University.
“You can trust respected medical authorities. I believe I’m one of them. So, I think you can trust me,” he said.
“I would stick with respected medical authorities who have a track record of telling the truth, who have a track record of giving information and policy and recommendations based on scientific evidence and good data.”
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Fauci said it was “entirely understandable how the public can get mixed messages and then get a bit confused about what they should do.”
The infectious diseases expert then took an apparent swipe at President Donald Trump and those who’ve been politicizing the virus.
“Don’t get involved in any of the political nonsense,” Fauci said. “That’s a waste of time and a distraction.”
Fauci also contradicted Trump’s claim that more testing has led to more cases. He explained that the rate of positive tests is also increasing, showing a real terms rise in infections.
“Therefore, unequivocally, you’re seeing truly more new cases,” he said.
“In addition, we’re seeing now more hospitalizations, which lag behind infections, and we’re starting and will see—though not as much as we’ve seen—very likely more deaths. So, clearly, there are more infections.”
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Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media
