(Headline USA) Coronavirus Czar Dr. Anthony Fauci finally declared the U.S. out of its “pandemic phase” this week, despite having called for an extension of President Joe Biden’s federal mask mandate just six days ago.
“We don’t have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now,” he told PBS News on Wednesday. “So, if you’re saying if we are out of the pandemic phase in this country? We are.”
JUST IN: Dr. Anthony Fauci tells our @JudyWoodruff the U.S. is “out of the pandemic phase.” https://t.co/x2wbLMyl6O pic.twitter.com/xA71jE4Fuv
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) April 26, 2022
However, Fauci emphasized that spread of the virus is still “ongoing,” but because it is so low it should not be considered a “pandemic.”
“Right now, we are not in the pandemic phase in this country. Pandemic means a wide spread throughout the world infection that spreads rapidly among people,” Fauci explained.
Unsurprisingly, Fauci reversed this statement within hours.
“We certainly cannot say the pandemic is over,” Fauci told CBS News on Wednesday when asked about his earlier comments. “It is not over.”
His change of tune shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, since, just last week, Fauci blasted a federal judge’s decision to strike down Biden’s federal mask mandate, arguing that it was still necessary in places like airports.
“I think it’s unfortunate that a court order came in and, I believe, superseded the authority of the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” he said.
And this week, Fauci announced that he is pulling out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner due to COVID-19 concerns.
