CDC warns U.S. may goes back into coronavirus lockdown if cases go up ‘dramatically’

The U.S. may need to re-implement the strict social distancing measures that were put in place earlier this year if coronavirus cases rise “dramatically” in America, a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official said on Friday.

“Right now, communities are experiencing different levels of transmission occurring, as they gradually ease up onto the community mitigation efforts and gradually reopen,” the CDC’s deputy director for infectious diseases, Jay Butler, told reporters during a press briefing.

“If cases begin to go up again, particularly if they go up dramatically, it’s important to recognize that more mitigation efforts such as what were implemented back in March may be needed again,” Butler said.

He said the decision to reimplement measures will have to be made locally and based on “what is happening within the community regarding disease transmission.”

The “pandemic is not over” and it’s important to recognize that Covid-19 is still making headlines everywhere, he added.