Coronavirus USA: What four states is Fauci concerned about and why?

Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert who is on Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, is one of the most trusted people in government and many Americans listen to his advice diligently on how to protect themselves from infection. The Brooklyn born along with another prominent member of the task force, Deborah Birx have become voices of governmental authority in advising US citizens on practices and advice to deal with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

With U.S. deaths from novel coronavirus surpassing 150,000 on Wednesday, a number higher than in any other country and nearly a quarter of the world's total, Fauci issued words of warning as cases continue to spiral out of control in many U.S. states.

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The U.S. epicentre has also moved, to the South and West from the area around New York, which still has by far the highest death toll at more than 32,000.

On Tuesday, Arkansas, California, Florida, Montana, Oregon and Texas each reported record spikes in fatalities. The rising numbers have crushed early hopes the country was past the worst of an economic crisis that has decimated businesses and put millions of Americans out of work.

Speaking to ABC News, Fauci said he and Dr. Deborah Birx (the White House coordinator on the coronavirus task force) issued a warning to the states' governors in a private phone call on Tuesday.

He added: "Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana are among those states starting to show a subtle increase in "percent positives" -- the percentage of total tests with positive results". That's a sure-fire hint that you may be getting into the same sort of trouble with those states that the southern states got into trouble with."

The 79-year-old concluded acknowledging that many Asian and European nations had done better jobs at getting their transmission rates under control following stricter lockdown enforcements earlier in the year.