Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Americans that the country would not be going back to normal anytime soon, as the White House's coronavirus t...
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Americans that the country would not be going back to normal anytime soon, as the White House's coronavirus taskforce released a three-phase plan to reopen restaurants, shops, gyms, churches and schools.
'No matter what phase you're in there are certain fundamental things that we've done that are not like it was in September or October, you want to call it the "new normal," you can all it whatever you want,' Fauci said at the White House Thursday, referencing last fall as the pre-coronavirus era.
Even when states or counties get to phase three - which gives Americans the most freedom to move - vulnerable individuals are advised to practice physical distancing and bars are cautioned to operate with increased standing room.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that the 'new normal' would not look like it did last fall, before the coronavirus started wreaking havoc around the world
The White House unveiled the 'Opening up America Again' plan Thursday, where the coronavirus taskforce including Fauci (pictured) explained the three phase process
President Trump talked of his desire to have 'normal' mean filled stadiums, but Fauci suggested that that was a long way off
Fauci was asked specifically about packed sports arenas and concerts and if in phase three, Americans would be able to attend large-scale gatherings.
'The answer is conceivable that we will be able to do that,' Fauci said. 'I think there will always have to be attention to making sure that we don't do all that packing in together,' he also advised.
At one point in the briefing President Trump said he wanted stadiums back to being packed.
'Our normal is if you have 100,000 people in an Alabama football game or 110,000 to be exact, we want 110,000 people there, we want every seat occupied. Normal isn't going to be game with 50,000,' the president said.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wasn't nearly as optimistic.
'There may be some setbacks,' he cautioned. 'This is uncharted water. There may be some setbacks and we may have to pull back a little and then go forward.'
'I do see us more towards normal,' he said.
The Trump White House's 'Opening up America Again' plan leaned heavily on state and local action and left the decision up to the governors on when to move on to each phase of reopening businesses.
The president had a call with governors Thursday afternoon and then debuted the plan during the daily coronavirus taskforce briefing.
With states showing differing levels of coronavirus infection, the plan is supposed to be tailored to each county or state.
'It will be staggered,' Fauci explained.
'We feel confident that sooner or later we will get to the point, hopefully sooner - with safety as the most important thing - to a point where we can get back to some form of normality,' he said.
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