8 key exchanges from the testimony of the nation's top infectious disease expert who warned the US outbreak is going to 'get worse'

On Wednesday, March 11, top public health officials including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about the government response to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Rep. Harley Rouda: "I think we're concerned that we're not getting the full understanding or modeling that has taken place that would suggest the true impact of this virus across the United States as well as potential models for deaths. Can you elaborate a little bit? I get that there's no perfect model. But can you be helpful in helping us understand what we're really looking at here?"

Dr. Fauci: "Yeah. If you look at the curves of outbreaks historically that are similar to this, the curve looks like this, and then it goes up exponentially. That's the reason why it depends on how you respond now. So if we wait until we have many, many more cases, we will be multiple weeks behind. You know, I use the analogy at the press conference yesterday and I'll use it today. It's the old metaphor that the Wayne Gretzky approach, you skate not to where the puck is but to where the puck is going to be."