Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday cautioned President Donald Trump would be "asking for trouble" if he held campaign rallies as coronavirus cases are climbing in 32 states.
During a CNN interview, Fauci was asked whether he was concerned about people gathering at the Trump rallies.
"We know that is asking for trouble when you do that," he replied. "We've seen that when you have situations of congregate settings where there are a lot of people without masks, the data speak for themselves."
"And now is even more so a worse time to do that," Fauci added.
In 32 states, the percentage of positive coronavirus tests is 5% higher, meaning outbreaks are occurring throughout most of the country.
"It's going in the wrong direction right now, so if there's anything we should be doing, we should be doubling down in implementing the public health measures that we've been talking about for so long, which are keeping a distance, no crowds, wearing masks, washing hands, doing things outside as opposed to inside, in order to get those numbers down," Fauci said.
While masks at the rallies are encouraged, they are not required. The campaign also hands out hand sanitizer and performs temperature checks, but 40% to 45% of people with COVID-19 are thought to not show symptoms of the disease.
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