Fauci: Assume new COVID-19 strain is in US

(Source thehill.com)

 Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said that Americans should assume a new, more contagious strain of the coronavirus detected in the U.K. is already in the U.S. It’s “certainly possible” that the strain is already present within the U.S., Fauci said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “When you have this amount of spread within a place like the U.K., you really need to assume that it’s here already. … It certainly is not the dominant strain but I would certainly not be surprised at all if it is already here,” he said.  Fauci counseled against “overreacting” to the new strain and against a temporary travel ban in response. Asked about those recommendations, he called travel bans “rather draconian,” noting that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo  is also discussing the testing of all arrivals in New York City. “That’s a big difference than completely shutting off travel and banning travel completely, which is really a rather dramatic step. That’s not really in the cards right now,” he said.