Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday state and local government leaders should be “as forceful as possible” in urging the wearing of face masks to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which the top infectious disease expert says is still in the first wave in the United States and has hit Americans “very severely.”
Fauci said the United States needs “to get better control” over COVID-19 and masks must be a priority as the country opens up.
“I would urge the leaders — the local, political and other leaders — in states and cities and towns to be as forceful as possible in getting your citizenry to wear masks,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a video conference with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.