Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is weighing in on a topic of interest for many Americans — the possibility of summer vacation.
During an appearance on “CBS This Morning,” Fauci was asked about “progress toward normalization” and if he could envision a normal summer — with trips to beaches, baseball games, normal weddings, reunions, and other gatherings — based on the current project models.
Fauci offered a glimmer of hope, saying, a normal summer “can be in the cards,” emphasizing that his statement is being made with caution.
He noted that the possibility would be contingent on if the United States is prepared to take aggressive action if “infections start to rear their heads again.”
“As I said, when we do that, when we pull back and try to open up the country, as we often use that terminology, we have to be prepared that when the infections start to rear their heads again that we have in place a very aggressive and effective way to identify, isolate, contact, trace, and make sure we don’t have those spikes that we see now,” the doctor said.
See Fauci’s comments below:
When asked by @TonyDokoupil if he can envision a summer where we're returning to beaches, celebrations, etc., Dr. Fauci said yes, “if we do the things that we need to do to prevent the resurgence" and "identify, isolate, contact, trace," to avoid future spikes. pic.twitter.com/FBExwKcjrY
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) April 9, 2020
Fauci went on to offer his short answer to the question noting the importance of preventing a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
“So the answer to your question is yes, if we do the things that we need to do to prevent the resurgence,” he said.
Fauci’s remarks come just one day after Dr. Deborah Birx — the global health expert who is also a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force — outlined revised social distancing guidelines for some people who have been exposed to the virus to allow them to return to work in critical economic fields. News guidelines were issued on Wednesday.
However, Birx did warn Americans to not take the latest death toll projections as a definitive sign of life returning to completely normal activity over the next 30 days. Rescinding social guidelines too quickly could lead to a “very acute second wave” if done too soon, she said on Wednesday.
See Birx’s remarks below:
“Do you anticipate that we might come in under that initial projection of 100,000 to 240,000 deaths?” @savannahguthrie asks Dr. Deborah Birx. pic.twitter.com/J8rjA0Q8aS
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 8, 2020
“What’s really important is that people don’t turn these early signs of hope into releasing from the 30 days to stop the spread — it’s really critical,” Birx said. “If people start going out again and socially interacting, we could see a very acute second wave very early.”