“We probably should get up to twice that as we get into the next several weeks, and I think we will,” he said during the National Academy of Sciences annual meeting.

Public health experts have called for increased testing to get a clearer picture of the pandemic’s scope, as well as to identify, isolate and trace contacts for infected patients.

High rates of positive results could mean there’s not enough testing, Fauci said, adding that those should constitute “maybe less than 10 percent.” The U.S. currently is seeing positive rates closer to 20 percent.

Adequate testing should “get those who are infected out of society so that they don’t infect others,” he said.