Live Updates: Fauci touts California coronavirus lockdowns

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Trey Gowdy: No rationality behind California's outdoor dining ban

Fox News contributor reacts to the latest coronavirus restrictions on 'The Daily Briefing'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, touted California's latest coronavirus lockdown measures and said the move will rescue the state's strained hospital systems. 

"They were right at the cusp of having the hospital beds be overrun in the sense of not having enough beds, not having enough trained personnel, particularly intensive care,” Fauci said, during an interview with the Milken Institute’s 2020 Future of Health Summit. “They made a difficult decision but I believe it was the prudent decision where they said, ‘you know, if we keep going up at the rate we’re going, very soon our hospital system, our public health system is going to be stretched to the maximum. So now’s the time to call a timeout, shut down, not indefinitely, but just enough to add some flexibility to the hospital system,' otherwise, they could be in significant trouble.”

Fauci added that other states are in a situation similar to California as the nation heads into the thick of holiday season when travel is likely to pick back up and people weigh whether to see family. 

He stopped short of identifying which states, but other officials have criticized Calif. Gov. Newsom's orders, citing a lack of evidence. 

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