Fauci says reopening U.S. economy too soon could lead to needless deaths: NYT

(Reuters) – A senior U.S. health official set to testify on Tuesday before the U.S. Senate will warn about the risks of reopening the economy too soon, saying it could lead to “needless suffering and death”, the New York Times said.

“If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to ‘Open America Again,’ then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country,” the newspaper quoted Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as saying in an email.

“This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.”

The danger of trying to open the country prematurely was the major message Fauci wanted to convey to the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions committee at Tuesday’s meeting, he added, the paper said late on Monday.