Labor Day Weekend Could Cause a Spike in Coronavirus Cases, Fauci Says

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Sep 05, 2020 12:22 AM EDT

Labor day weekend could cause a rise in COVID-19 cases in Illinois and six other states, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The nation's top infectious disease expert cited many states that are at risk of rising cases such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois.

"Those states are starting to see an increase in the percent positive of their testing; that is generally predictive that there's going to be a problem," Fauci said.

Illinois health officials recorded 1,360 new coronavirus cases, and 25 additional deaths on Thursday.

New data from the Illinois Department of Public Health showed that statewide cases totaled to 240,003 confirmed cases since the pandemic started. There were at leas 8,115 deaths in all 102 counties due to the virus.

A total of 40,795 tests were performed in Illinois labs within 24 hours prior. The state's rolling seven-day positivity rate decreased to 4.4 percent from 4.5 percent before. However, it remains slightly higher that it has been in recent weeks.

Fauci warned on Wednesday that the country had previously seen spikes in coronavirus cases after earlier holiday weekends.

"The issue that we're facing right now is we're entering... into the Labor Day weekend and we know from prior experience that when you get into holiday weekends - the Fourth of July, Memorial Day - there's a tendency of people to be careless, somewhat, with regard to the public health measures that we keep recommending over and over again," Fauci noted.

Fauci added that he wants to use this opportunity to let the public realize that they still need to get their arms around this and suppress these surges.

The health expert said people can still enjoy the weekend but need to do a few fundamental things that are usually talked about like wearing masks, maintaining social distance, avoiding crowds, and washing hands.

According to an analysis, U.S.'s average daily new cases are up by five percent in 22 states.

Vanderbilt University infectious disease specialist Dr. William Schaffner said the level of pervasive spread with the holiday weekend have the making of what he described as an "accelerator weekend."

Schaffner said this is another holiday that they "will see what the general population does and how careful they are or how carefree they are."

"I have a fair amount of trepidation, frankly, because it looks as though a very substantial portion of our population wants to be out and about very freely in groups," Schaffner noted.

Schaffner added that many want to mingle in groups without a mask and do not practice social distancing.

In Tennessee, Schaffner said some county officials recently allowed their mask mandates to expire after cases fell to a manageable level.

He said that this was a big mistake that might be evidence of a broader phenomenon happening in communities and individuals across the country, who feel they can ease their vigilance.

Schaffner stressed that people have to sustain their commitment to social distancing and masking for months as stopping the spread of coronavirus is "not a quick fix."