Dr. Fauci Broaches the Subject on Everyone's Mind

Thanksgiving, and what to do about it
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 15, 2020 12:40 AM CDT
Updated Oct 18, 2020 1:00 PM CDT
Dr. Fauci Broaches the Subject on Everyone's Mind
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, listens during a Senate Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Hearing on the federal government response to COVID-19 on Sept. 23, 2020, in Washington.   (Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP)

With the holidays looming, Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday weighed in on the topic probably dominating the thoughts of many in the US right now: Thanksgiving. "You may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering, unless you're pretty certain that the people that you're dealing with are not infected" with COVID-19, he said on CBS Evening News, per CNN. How would you be that certain, exactly? "Either they've been very recently tested, or they're living a lifestyle in which they don't have any interaction with anybody except you and your family," he continued. "It is unfortunate, because that’s such a sacred part of the American tradition, the family gathering around Thanksgiving, but that is a risk," he said, noting that travel on planes or public transportation adds to that risk.

And yes, he is practicing what he preaches: "My Thanksgiving is going to look very different this year," he said, because his children live out of state. "They themselves, because of their concern for me and my age, have decided they're not going to come home for Thanksgiving, even though all three of them want very much to come home for Thanksgiving." Also this week, the director of the CDC weighed in on the holiday. "In the public square, we're seeing a higher degree of vigilance and mitigation steps in many jurisdictions," Robert Redfield said on a Tuesday call to state governors, per the Hill. "But what we're seeing as the increasing threat right now is actually acquisition of infection through small household gatherings. Particularly with Thanksgiving coming up, we think it's really important to stress the vigilance of these continued mitigation steps in the household setting." (More coronavirus stories.)

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