Dr. Anthony Fauci concerned protests and rallies will cause spike in COVID-19 cases
Concerns raised over coronavirus spread during protests over George Floyd's death; reaction on 'The Five.'
"The Five" co-host Jesse Watters said Wednesday that he would not be surprised if the country sees a surge in coronavirus cases after thousands ignored social distancing guidelines in recent days to protest the death of George Floyd.
"If there’s a second wave, it’s on the left," Watters said. "They went out there and rioted. They probably spread the disease. They burned down 70 testing sites, they set the economic recovery back big time."
Watters made the comment after Dr. Anthony Fauci called the protests a "perfect recipe" for coronavirus spread. Dr. Deborah Birx, President Trump’s coronavirus response coordinator, also estimated Monday that 70 testing sites were destroyed by rioters, which she said could set back efforts to contain the virus.
DR FAUCI SAYS FLOYD PROTESTS 'PERFECT RECIPE' FOR NEW CORONAVIRUS SURGES
Watters said that while he understands why many felt compelled to protest, the true responsibility lies at the feet of the media, "who in May said 'no large gatherings over ten [people] and then in June said yeah, 12,000 ... 15,000, go for it because racism is deadlier than coronavirus.'"
"Now that Trump is doing rallies, we are back to the 'coronavirus is coming to get you," he added. "I just don’t know how deadly and contagious it is, because it wasn’t taken that seriously by the so-called 'experts' when you have thousands of people in the streets."
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Co-host Dana Perino also called out media members who criticized President Trump's decision to resume holding campaign rallies.
"Maybe he should call them protests," she suggested, "because then the media would probably come along for that."
Fox News' Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
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