Anthony Fauci has warned that America could see coronavirus cases soar to 100,000 a day, as concerns mount about the ability of the country to rein in the pandemic as states in the south and west see big spikes.

“We’re now having 40-plus thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around,” Dr Fauci, the White House coronavirus task force member, told a Senate hearing on Tuesday. “I am very concerned because it could get very bad.”

Dr Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, was testifying before the Senate health committee as Arizona, Texas and Florida see significant increases in Covid-19 cases that have forced those states to reverse course on plans to ease their lockdowns.