Those looking to enjoy the summertime after weeks of isolation and loneliness may have a glimmer of hope.
Anthony Fauci, the foremost infectious disease expert in the United States, said Thursday on CBS This Morning that a typical summer, complete with human interaction and vacations, “can be in the cards.”
Fauci, who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, offered a bit of caution, however. He said that the U.S. needs to be careful about emerging from quarantines in order to prevent a second wave of infections.
“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.
“So the answer to your question is yes, if we do the things that we need to do to prevent the resurgence,” he said of the odds that this summer will have the “trappings of normalcy.”
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 This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) April 9, 2020
“The bottom line of it all is, that what we see looking forward, it is very likely that we will progress toward the steps toward normalization as we get to the end of this thirty days,” Fauci said. “But hopefully, and hopefully, by the time we get to the summer, we will have taken many steps in that direction.”
When Fauci, known for his work ethic, was asked if he planned on taking a vacation this summer, he said that was out of the picture.
“I don’t take vacations,” the doctor responded.
Fauci’s remarks come a day after Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House coronavirus task force, warned of a “second wave” of infections if people begin leaving their homes too soon. The U.S. has had more than 432,000 cases of the coronavirus and at least 14,808 deaths, according to the most recent count by Johns Hopkins University.
