Fauci Tells Americans Not to Visit Their Children for Christmas
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert said this week his family will be celebrating Christmas separately this year, and urged other Americans to do the same.
Fauci said he and his wife won't be seeing their three children for his birthday on Christmas Eve or the on Christmas Day amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"I'm going to be with my wife - period," he told The Washington Post on Monday.
Fauci, who is turning 80, said the Christmas holiday was doubly special for his family since it overlapped with his birthday.
Fauci Says American 'Going To Have To Accept' Distance from Family
"They are not going to come home...That's painful," he said, emphasizing that he's not going to like that distance from his children as well.
But he added that it's "just one of the things you're going to have to accept" as the country continues to struggle against the global pandemic.
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Fauci said his family will be following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation to avoid gatherings over the holidays, reported The Hill.
He added that this will be the first Christmas he won't be spending with his three daughters since they were born, a Fox News report said.
Fauci Warns Christmas Can't Be 'Business As Usual'
With the coming holidays, he noted that many Americans chose to ignore guidance over Thanksgiving and warned that Christmas won't be "business as usual."
Earlier this month, he also warned that Christmas would be a "greater challenge" than Thanksgiving since it would be a longer holiday, reported BBC.
He acknowledged that the holiday seasons shouldn't be shut down but, during this critical time, he wanted Americans to "not walk away from the facts and the data."
Despite appeals from experts not to travel over the Thanksgiving weekend, many still opted to travel and visit loved ones.
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The Sunday after Thanksgiving saw the most air travelers since March.
Fauci cautioned that the U.S. still has a "big problem" with the number of hospitalizations, cases and deaths recorded.
Gatherings over the holidays will make the number grow worse, similar to Thanksgiving, he said.
If people do want to travel, he cautioned that people who test negative of the virus first before travelling or gathering with people isn't guaranteed a negative test for the following day.
Fauci Says Next Christmas May Be 'Back to Normal'
Fauci advised people to stay home as much as they can and to interact with members of the same household.
He added that the U.S. is already facing a very difficult situation because of the pandemic and it could grow worse "if we don't do something about it."
Fauci was optimistic that despite the unusual situation that people face today, it won't be a permanent setup and will likely end with vaccine being distributed.
He predicted that by next Christmas, the holidays will be "back to normal."
As of Monday, the U.S. has staggered past 300,000 deaths due to the coronavirus, with about 2,400 people dying each day, on average.
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