Fauci: We ‘need to be prepared’ for likely Covid uptick this winter

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former top infectious disease expert in the U.S., isn’t sounding alarm bells on the rising number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. yet, but he did caution that the trend will continue into the fall and winter months.

“I wouldn't say that I'm alarmed but I'm certainly keeping an eye on it,” Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. The former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is now a professor at Georgetown University.

“There's no doubt, as you know and reported just a moment ago, we're having an uptick in cases, which is being reflected by an uptick about 17 or more percent in hospitalizations. … And since we're now at the end of the summer, it is likely that that will increase as we get into the fall and the winter. So, we need to be prepared for it,” Fauci said.

Cases have been on the rise since July, causing some schools to cancel classes or move to online learning. Pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Moderna are working on updated versions of the Covid-19 vaccines that are expected to be available this fall. In the meantime, Fauci said he does not expect any federal mask mandates.

“I mean, I can see that if we get a significant uptick in cases that you may see the recommendation that masks be used under certain circumstances and indoor crowded settings, but … certainly not federal mandates. I would be extremely surprised if we would see that,” said Fauci, who became one of the most divisive public health figures in recent memory due in part to the masking recommendations that were imposed during the peak of the pandemic.