Anthony Fauci warned that upcoming coronavirus mutations could be even more contagious than delta, which has a viral load “about 1,000 times higher” than the alpha variant.

Iran PressAmerica: White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that a more severe Covid variant could emerge as the U.S. daily new case average is now approaching 100,000 per day, exceeding the level of transmission last summer before vaccines were available.

According to US media, Fauci said the US could be “in trouble” if a new variant overtakes delta, which already has a viral load 1,000 times higher than the original Covid strain.

The U.S. is reporting a seven-day average of nearly 94,000 new cases as of Aug. 4, up 48% from one week ago, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In a separate measure from the average, the U.S. actually topped 100,000 daily new cases on Monday and Tuesday.

The US now has the highest coronavirus-related death toll in the world. 219