Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday said the United States is "Out of the pandemic phase" of COVID-19 due to the nation's low level of deaths, hospitalizations and cases being reported, though globally, "There's no doubt that this pandemic is still ongoing." "We are at a low level right now," the nation's top infectious diseases expert told "PBS NewsHour" of the nation's status as COVID-19 cases continue a weekslong plateau, with fewer than 60,000 new cases being reported a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While cases have generally dropped and plateaued in the U.S. where vaccinations have been made widely available globally, cases continue to hit pandemic proportions, he said.
"Pandemic means a widespread, throughout the world infection that spreads rapidly among people, so if you look at the global situation, there's no doubt that this pandemic is still ongoing," Fauci said.
Globally, nearly 26 million cases have been reported over the last 28 days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Italy, Australia, Japan and Vietnam have had the highest number of cases during that roughly four-week period, with the U.S. following behind along with the United Kingdom.
Medical experts, including Fauci, have noted that case counts in the U.S. are likely much lower than they actually are.
More than half of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. today are from the omicron virus variant known as BA.2.
