Dr. Anthony Fauci Praises New York’s Coronavirus Response: They Did It ‘Correctly’

Dr. Anthony Fauci last week praised New York for its response to the Chinese coronavirus, asserting that the state responded “correctly,” despite having the highest number of cases and fatalities in the United States.

Speaking to PBS NewsHour, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases praised New York for its response to the virus, suggesting that states with surging cases look to the Empire State as a guide.

Dr. Fauci: "We have got to do the things… that we need to do to turn this around… When you do it properly, you bring down those cases… We have done it in New York. New York got hit worse than any place in the world. And they did it correctly…"https://t.co/AyhXRvnFDd pic.twitter.com/0NuHmJdt3m

— JERRY DUNLEAVY (@JerryDunleavy) July 18, 2020

“Again, we have a problem. We need to admit it and own it. But we have got to do the things that are very clear that we need to do to turn this around, remembering we can do it,” Fauci told anchor Judy Woodruff.

“We know that, when you do it properly, you bring down those cases. We have done it. We have done it in New York. New York got hit worse than any place in the world. And they did it correctly by doing the things that you’re talking about,” he said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-NY) administration came under fire early on over its initial handling of the virus, particularly over the order directing nursing homes to accept recovering coronavirus patients. That decision led to thousands of deaths within nursing homes across the state.

Despite Cuomo’s stringent restrictions, it still boasts the highest number of cases in the country, reporting 411,515 total cases and 32,187 deaths as of Monday morning, according to the New York Times’ rolling tally. While it is true that the cases are no longer on the rise and the positivity rate remains low in New York, the state still comprises 23 percent of the United State’s total coronavirus-related fatalities.

All eyes have switched to Florida in recent weeks, which has seen the addition of thousands of cases consistently per day. Fauci has criticized the Sunshine State, telling FiveThirtyEight’s Podcast-19 that some states “just opened up too quickly.”

“Certainly Florida I know, you know, I think jumped over a couple of checkpoints,” Fauci said.

Despite the rising number of cases and increasing critiques, the fatality rate has not followed suit in Florida, dropping to 1.4 percent as of Monday.

While critics have observed that Fauci and President Donald Trump appear to be at odds on several points, both have denied tension. Fauci told PBS NewsHour that he believes he has the full backing of the president and White House.

“We’re all on the same team, including Dr. Fauci,” Trump said last week. “I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci and we’re all on the same team. We want to get rid of this mess that China sent us.”