Dr. Fauci Will Tell the Senate that Reopening the Country Too Soon Will Cause ‘Needless Suffering and Death’

Dr. Anthony Fauci plans to tell a Senate committee on Tuesday that opening back up the U.S. economy too quickly will cause unnecessary suffering and death. Fauci told the New York Times in an email what he would tell the health, education, labor and pensions committee.

“If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: ‘Open America Again’ then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country,” Fauci said.

“This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal,” he said.

This message will likely win a frosty reception from Republicans on the committee. Many in the GOP have been calling for the country to reopen despite the ongoing global pandemic and the deaths of more than 80,000 Americans since the disease hit the country.

Fauci has been consistent in his messaging about what the U.S. needs to do to tackle the virus. He’s been consistently undermined by Republicans and by President Donald Trump himself, who’s spread misinformation at press briefings and railed against stay-at-home orders.