COVID-19 in U.S. "going to get worse," Fauci warns

A man walks past the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., the United States, on April 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"Things are going to get worse," warned Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- As the more contagious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus is spreading across the United States, Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor, has warned that "things are going to get worse."

"We are looking, not I believe, to lockdown but we are looking to some pain and suffering in the future because we are seeing the cases go up," Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

"The solution to this is, get vaccinated," he said.

A man wearing a face mask rides an electric skateboard near the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed a 64.1 percent increase in COVID-19 cases in the country over the week ended July 30 compared with the previous week, or an average of 66,606 cases a day.