'It might actually get worse': Dr. Fauci warns of a 'post-seasonal' surge in COVID-19 cases

• Dr. Anthony Fauci warned the US "might see a post-seasonal" surge in coronavirus cases following the high amount of travel over the holidays.
• Ahead of the winter holidays, the US had already marked a staggering number of deaths from the coronavirus following the Thanksgiving holiday, which also saw a record amount of travelers ignoring public health recommendations.
• More than 1.19 million travelers passed through the airports on the day before Christmas Eve — the highest number recorded since March, according to data from the Transportation and Security Administration.

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned of a surge in coronavirus cases following the high amount of travel over the holidays.

"We very well might see a post-seasonal - in the sense of Christmas, New Year's - surge, and as I've described it a surge upon a surge," the nation's leading infectious disease expert said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

Fauci had urged the American public to "stay at home as much as you can" ahead of the Christmas holidays, The Washington Post reported. However, more than 1.19 million travelers passed through the airports on the day before Christmas Eve - the highest number recorded since March, according to data from the Transportation and Security Administration.

Ahead of the winter holidays, the US was witnessing a staggering number of deaths from the coronavirus following the Thanksgiving holiday period, during which millions of Americans traveled despite the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation against doing so.

A nurse on the frontlines told Business Insider's Allana Akhtar reported that she was "terrified" for the potential of more cases following Christmas, noting that the hospital "still [had] the Thanksgiving patients that are still so sick that we can't get them out of ICU."

On Sunday, Fauci echoed a concern aired by President-elect Joe Biden that as "we get into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse."

The US currently has a total of 18.9 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.