Dr. Anthony Fauci warns parts of California are on the verge of having their health-care systems "overrun" by the surge in COVID-19 patients.
"That is the reason why you had to really resort to rather dramatic shutdown procedures. That's the bitter part," Fauci said.
Fauci spoke about California's surge during a virtual Q&A with the Cal State University campus presidents.
"The sweet part, and the light at the end of the tunnel, is as these weeks and months go by, if we hang in there, things will get better and better as we implement a vaccine over the coming months that will ultimately turn around and put this outbreak behind us. But it is going to be a very challenging few months as we get into the spring of 2021 and well into the summer. We are really at a crossroads of an extraordinary time in our country, and in the state of California, where you are really being challenged in an extraordinary way and at the same time as that there really is hope we can get out of this," he said to the students.
Asked about his message to CSU students, Fauci urged them to "hang in there...together" and said when this is all over, they'll come out stronger for having lived through something of historic proportion