CDC director warns of 'impending doom' as COVID-19 cases tick upwards

Rochelle Walensky.
(Image credit: SUSAN WALSH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The United States has "so much reason for hope" when it comes to getting out of the COVID-19 pandemic, but "right now I'm scared," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during her Monday press briefing.

Going off script, Walensky said she wanted to "reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom." The sobering comments come amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the United States (some places are worse than others) after a steep dropoff in recent months. Walensky pointed to European countries like Germany, France, and Italy that have seen a spike in cases over the last few weeks, noting the U.S. trajectory "looks similar."

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.