'I think we need to give it a few more days to determine if that's real,' immunologist Anthony Fauci told CNBC.
Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, was referencing reports Tuesday that the number of new daily cases in ChinaChinese officials also reported 98 deaths, the first time the daily toll was below 100 since Feb. 11, according to Reuters.
There are more than 73,400 confirmed coronavirus cases globally, the vast majority of which are still in China. Most of the 1,874 deaths have taken place there, too. A top World Health Organization official also urged restraint when interpreting the new data. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it "appears to show a decline in new cases," but any trend "must be interpreted very cautiously," according to Reuters.
Fauci said China's domestic strategy to contain the virus was not a typical strategy, but he suggested it may prove to be effective. "The degree with which they have shut down travel through major cities, encompassing about 50 million people including the entire 11 million person city of Wuhan ... is really unprecedented," he said. "Their decision to do that was their desire to make sure that the virus does not spread further throughout China, but also outside of China into other countries.
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