US: Autumn Surge Predicted, UK: Hospitals Filling-Up, US House Speaker Tests Pos, World Covid Stats

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US: Fauci Predicts Surge in Autumn

(CNN)Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Wednesday that he thinks there will be an uptick in cases of Covid-19 over the next few weeks and that it is likely that there could be a surge in the fall.

“I think we should expect, David, that over the next couple of weeks, we are going to see an uptick in cases — and hopefully there is enough background immunity so that we don’t wind up with a lot of hospitalizations,” Fauci said when asked by Bloomberg TV’s David Westin about the prospect of another wave of Covid-19 from BA.2 or another variant, given the level of immunity believed to exist in the US today.
Fauci reiterated that the US often follows other countries, offering the UK, which also has the BA.2 variant, as an example. He said that as well as a pullback on many mask mandates and restrictions for indoor settings, there has been a waning of immunity.
“Those conditions are also present in the United States,” he said. “So, I would not be surprised if we see an uptick in cases. Whether that uptick becomes a surge where there are a lot more cases is difficult to predict.”
Asked later whether it should be expected that this fall will look like the past two — and if people should be bracing for something around October — Fauci said that he thinks “it is likely that we will see a surge in the fall.”
He noted that “these are uncharted waters for us with this virus” and that with other viruses, such as flu — which people have decades of experience with — predictions about what might happen can be made with some degree of accuracy.
“I would think that we should expect that we are going to see some increase in cases as you get to the colder weather in the fall,” he said. “That’s the reason why the [Food and Drug Administration] and their advisory committee are meeting right now to plan a strategy, and we at the [National Institutes of Health] are doing studies now to determine what the best boost would be.”

CNN’s Virginia Langmaid contributed to this report.

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Hospitals under strain as cases remain high

Hospitals are under “enormous strain” – with some so busy they are having to divert ambulances to other sites. Over the past week, 20 NHS Accident and Emergency departments in England issued diverts, with patients taken elsewhere. The pressures are partly caused by the high number of Covid patients. Current figures are close to the total seen in first Covid wave, in spring 2020 – although more than half of patients are in hospital for other reasons, but happen to have Covid as well.

US Speaker Pelosi tests positive

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has tested positive for Covid-19, making her the most senior member of Congress so far to report an infection. The leading Democrat is asymptomatic, her spokesman said on Thursday. Mrs Pelosi, 82, was seen hugging former President Barack Obama during his visit to the White House on Tuesday, and standing close to President Joe Biden.

Nancy Pelosi
Mrs Pelosi was seen in close quarters with a number of high-profile Democrats

Short presentational grey lineWORLD COVID STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

496,715,215

Deaths:

6,196,041

Recovered:

432,414,988
Highlighted in green
= all cases have recovered from the infection
Highlighted in grey
= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

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