Dr. Susan Hassig one New Orleans progress on slowing coronavirus spread
Associate Professor at Tulane University, Dr. Susan Hassig, joins Arthel Neville to discuss New Orleans' progress in reducing the spread of coronavirus.
Associate Professor at Tulane University Dr. Susan Hassig spoke with anchor Arthel Neville Saturday about reducing the spread of coronavirus, saying masks and social distancing are key to preventing high levels of infection.
"The pathogen will do what the pathogen will do if people don't listen to the best infectious disease expert we have in the country, Dr. [Anthony] Fauci. What we have available, physical distancing and masking, if implemented by the majority of members of any given community and the entire country, for that matter, will slow the spread of the virus," Hassig reminded viewers on "America's News HQ."
"And it is a fact [that] a mask blocks the virus that's being shed by someone who is infected."
US TOPS DAILY RECORD OF NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES
"And so I cannot emphasize enough how important masking and distance are to helping us maintain some semblance of normal until we have a very effective therapeutic and/or the vaccine available to us," Hassig said.
Fauci and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force delivered their first briefing in more than a month on Friday, as the number of positive COVID-19 cases surge in some states across the nation -- particularly for individuals under the age of 35.
The U.S. hit yet another all-time high Thursday in new daily coronavirus cases at 39,061, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Records kept by Johns Hopkins University showed the nationwide total was even higher, hitting 40,000 infections on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.
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Hassig said it was important for people to realize that the coronavirus never left and it is an issue Americans will have to deal with.
"I think it's really important for people to understand that the virus is here. It never went away," Hassig added. "And that's why it is so important not to wait for the cases to get high. By then, it's almost too late."
Fox News' Kayla Rivas and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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