Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, on Wednesday once again urged Americans to have a low-key Christmas in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“I’m going to be with my wife — period,” Fauci told The Washington Post. “The Christmas holiday is a special holiday for us because Christmas Eve is my birthday. And Christmas Day is Christmas Day. And they are not going to come home. That’s painful. We don’t like that. But that’s just one of the things you’re going to have to accept as we go through this unprecedented challenging time.”
Fauci turns 80 on Dec. 24. He has three adult daughters and none will visit him or his wife, Christine Grady, over the holidays.
The United States currently has “a big problem” as daily new infections, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 continue to surge, the scientist continued. “Look at the numbers — the numbers are really quite dramatic.”
The pandemic has now killed more than 300,000 people nationwide. Wednesday saw 244,365 new cases reported and 3,607 deaths.
Fauci last week revealed how the 32-year-old brother of his daughter’s boyfriend had died after contracting COVID-19.
He encouraged people to “stay at home as much as you can, keep your interactions to the extent possible to members of the same household.”
“This cannot be business as usual this Christmas because we’re already in a very difficult situation, and we’re going to make it worse, if we don’t do something about it,” he added.
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