(WHDH) — Dr. Anthony Fauci is set to be honored Monday night with a Service to America Medal, while he continues to warn about the coronavirus.
“It feels a little bit strange to be getting a recognition when we’re still in the middle of a really important historic battle,” Fauci said hours before he is set to accept his award.
The nation’s top infectious disease doctor stressed that he is concerned about where the United State’s coronavirus numbers stand as winter approaches.
“I am actually disturbed and concerned about the fact that our baseline of infections is still stuck at around 40,000 per day,” he said.
Massachusetts is one of 21 states reporting a surge in cases. New cases are down in only three states — Texas, Missouri and South Carolina.
“We’ve got to stop that trend and get everything going down as a country, all together, working together,” Fauci said.
He stressed that things will improve if everyone wears masks, avoids crowds and washes their hands.
“If we do that, we will not see the kind of outbreaks that we’ve just experienced,” Fauci continued.
The Service to America Medal isn’t Fauci’s first award. Back in 2008, George Bush awarded him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts to advance understanding and treatment of HIV and AIDS.
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