'No End In Sight' For Coronavirus, Fauci Tells Philly Group

PHILADELPHIA — As the United States works to battle the coronavirus, the nation's top infectious disease expert says there is no timeframe for when the pandemic will end, according to reports

Dr. Anthony Fauci recently told the Philadelphia-based American Association for Cancer Research that there is "essentially no end in sight" to the coronavirus pandemic, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

"Here we are in mid-July with close to 14 million cases globally and 580-plus-thousand deaths so far with essentially no end in sight," he said in a virtual meeting with the association. "The United States has been hit harder than any country in the world with the most cases, 3.4 million now, and the most deaths at about 136,000."

Conversely, President Donald Trump said Tuesday morning the United States is doing "very well" in handling the virus.

"By comparison to most other countries, who are suffering greatly, we are doing very well - and we have done things that few other countries could have done," the president said on Twitter.

During the meeting, Fauci reiterated several National Institute of Health-recommended actions that can be taken to prevent the spread of the virus, MedPage Today reports.

Those are:

• social/physical distancing;
• stay-at-home orders;
• closure of schools, venues, and nonessential businesses;
• bans on public gatherings;
• travel restrictions with infection screening;
• aggressive case identification and isolation;
• and contact tracing and quarantine.