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Coronavirus Updates: Dr. Fauci Concerned By Trump's Opposition To Biden Transition

By

Sydney Pereira

Published Nov 15, 2020

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Dr. Fauci during a Congressional hearing on September 23, 2020.

 

Alex Edelman/Shutterstock

By

Sydney Pereira

Published Nov 15, 2020

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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Sunday, November 15th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, and gyms, as well as 25% indoor dining. Certain parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island under a zoned shutdown. Get answers to questions you may have with our "Ask An Epidemiologist" series, or learn more about NYC COVID-19 testing options with our explainer. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

2:37 p.m.: President Donald Trump's ongoing opposition to any transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden will have an impact on the federal government's response to the ongoing public health crisis, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday morning in an interview on CNN.

"It's almost like passing a baton in a race. You don't wanna stop and then give it to somebody. You wanna just essentially keep going," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Jake Tapper in response to a question on how the transition process impacts public health.

"Of course it would be better if we could start working with them," Fauci said, referring to the incoming Biden-Harris administration. Fauci also said Trump had not met with the White House coronavirus task force in several months.

CNN reports the transition process—in which the incoming president-elect receives briefings on federal agencies—hasn't moved forward, while staffers below the political appointees are quietly preparing documents in some agencies.

Trump has refused to concede in the weeks following the election. On Sunday, he admitted in a tweet that Biden had won, but soon after clarified he has not conceded and blamed his loss on false information about a "rigged" election. (Twitter has marked the posts for disputed information.)

Fauci told CNN he's served six presidents across 36 years, and noted the transition process "is really important in a smooth handing over of the information."

"It certainly would make things more smoothly if we could do that," Fauci said.

Meanwhile, in the final months of Trump's presidency, the future vaccination phase of the pandemic continues to be a source of conflict between Trump and Governor Andrew Cuomo. Last week, Trump claimed he wouldn't send vaccine doses to New York until Cuomo approves it.

On Sunday, Cuomo threatened to sue the Trump administration over his vaccine plan, which the governor has said would increase racial disparities.

"I tell you today if the Trump Administration does not change this plan and does not provide an equitable vaccine process, we will enforce our legal rights, we will bring legal action to protect New Yorkers," Cuomo said in remarks at a Manhattan church on Sunday.

Cuomo added that enough "injustice has been done during COVID. It stops now. It stops with this vaccine."

No vaccine has been officially approved, and the process for distribution and administration would result in new challenges for the country and local governments.

NY is still fighting back a second wave of the virus.

The statewide positive testing rate was 2.74% on Saturday, Cuomo announced. The seven-day rolling average was at 2.86%. Cluster zones across the state had a 4.05% positivity rate, which is factored into the statewide rates.

Thirty New Yorkers died of coronavirus on Saturday, according to the governor's office. The official death toll across the state reached 26,133—a tally that does not include probable coronavirus deaths.

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COVID-19

second wave

coronavirus

Sydney Pereira

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