Dr. Anthony Fauci waits to testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC, June 23, 2020 (Kevin Dietsch/Reuters)

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US Government’s top Coronavirus expert, warns against the “risky business” of loosening containment measures as mass vaccinations proceed.

Fauci said in Sunday TV interviews that “even though the decline is steep” in deaths and cases, “we absolutely need to avoid the urge to say ‘Oh, everything is going great.”

He explained, “When you get a plateau at a level around 60,000 new infections per day, there’s always the risk of another surge. And that’s the thing we really want to avoid, because we are going in the right direction.”

The US death toll reached 534,580 on Sunday, an increase of 572 in 24 hours. Confirmed cases are 29,438,222, a rise of 38,034.

Governors of some states, including Texas, have lifted mandates for masks in public spaces. Others have eased restrictions on restaurants, bars, and businesses.

Fauci noted in parts of Europe, “They had a diminution of cases, they plateaued, and they pulled back on public health measures….The younger people particularly stopped wearing masks, and then, all of a sudden, you have a surge that went right back up. And that’s where we are right now.”

He specifically chided the removal of the mask mandates, using a reference to American football: “You don’t spike the ball when you’re on the 5-yard line.”

Fauci appealed to Donald Trump to encourage his supporters to be vaccinated, as more than 20% of Americans still say they will not be inoculated.

As President, Trump derided Fauci and other Government experts, lied about the danger of the virus, and promote unproven and dangerous treatments. He and his wife Melania quietly received the vaccine last month.

About 71% of Democrats say they have been vaccinated or will receive the jabs, compared to 47% of Republicans. Only 10% of Democrats will refuse, but about 33% of Republicans will do so.

Fauci summarized:

So the best way that we can avoid any threat from variants is do two things. Get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can, and to continue with the public health measures, until we get this broad umbrella of protection over society, that the level of infection is very low.