(WAND) - Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on infectious diseases in the United States, is asking the public to be on alert as the pandemic meets Labor Day weekend.
According to CNBC, Fauci called the number of COVID-19 cases the nation is seeing on a daily basis "unacceptably high." The U.S. is seeing about 40,000 new cases of the virus per day, and Fauci said this number needs to get below 10,000.
He added the public's actions over the holiday weekend will decide how virus spreads during the colder months.
“We know from prior experience as you get into the holiday weekend, the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, there’s a tendency of people to be careless somewhat with regard to the public health measures,” Fauci said. “I want to use this opportunity to almost have a plea to the people in this country to realize that we really still need to get our arms around this and to suppress these types of surges we’ve seen.”
Fauci named Illinois as one of seven states at risk of a surge due to an increase in the positive case percentage - something he said is typically in indicator of a problem. Other states named include North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri and Indiana.
COVID-19 statistics across the country have been rising and falling throughout 2020. Cases hit a peak of 31,000 across the U.S. in April before dropping to about 20,000 per day by the end of May. After Memorial Day, cases spiked again, reaching about 70,000 per day in July, per a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
There are signs leading to worries of another virus surge. On Tuesday, the U.S. reported 43,253 new cases, moving the seven-day average above 42,3000. This is a 0.6% jump from a week earlier.
Experts said the pandemic could worsen when temperatures get colder and people spend more time together indoors instead of outside. There's also the potential for the pandemic to meet the flu season - a combination health officials repeatedly have said could be dangerous.
Fauci said people can still have an "enjoyable" Labor Day weekend, but he suggested the public should follow "fundamental" health guidance, including wearing masks, keeping away from crowds, washing hands and holding events outdoors.
COVID-19 has infected over 6 million Americans and killed at least 184,600 people as of Wednesday. In Illinois, COVID-19 has infected over 240,000 people and caused over 8,100 deaths. The state reported 1,360 new cases and 25 more deaths on Sept. 3.
