Top infectious disease expert Fauci says, too early to declare victory over COVID-19

Washington: Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Dr Anthony Fauci has warned that it is too early to declare victory over the coronavirus, despite a falling number of cases.

"We don't want to declare victory prematurely because we still have a ways to go. But the more and more people that can get vaccinated, as a community, the community will be safer and safer," he was quoted by The Guardian as saying.

He explained that the possibility of new coronavirus variants that can diminish the effectiveness of existing vaccines would persist as long as there was "some degree of activity" around the world.

The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) estimates that on a global scale, daily cases have more than halved since the start of May.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 59.1 per cent of US nationals aged 12 years and above had been vaccinated with at least one dose as of last Friday. (UNI)