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Asked by CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “State of the Union” if he’d like a “national lockdown” where people are being told they need to stay home and out of restaurants and bars, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said he’d “like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see” in those places.
“Whatever it takes to do that, that’s what I’d like to see,” Fauci added.
Fauci, a key member of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, told Keilar that Americans will need to come to terms with the fact that life will begin to look much different as the country tries to slow the spread of the disease.
“We need to be very serious about — for a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States,” he said. “We have to just accept that if we want to do what’s best for the American public.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines “social distancing” as “remaining out of places where people meet or gather,” and “avoiding local public transportation.”
Already, some states and cities have implemented dramatic policies amid the pandemic.
The Washington, DC, government put more restrictions on bars, restaurants and nightclubs in place after large crowds celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in bars in some of the city’s most popular areas Saturday night.
Still, at least two Republican politicians have made comments that run counter to health officials’ recommendations to change behaviors and socially distance themselves amid the pandemic.
And California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes even went as far as urging Americans to patronize businesses, despite Fauci’s warning.
“If you’re healthy, you and your family, it’s a great time to go out and go to a local restaurant, likely you can get in easily. Let’s not hurt the working people in this country … go to your local pub,” Nunes said during a Sunday interview on Fox News.
As of Sunday afternoon, there were at least 3,155 cases of coronavirus in the US and the disease had resulted in at least 62 deaths, according to figures from state and local health agencies, governments and the CDC.
This story has been updated with additional developments Sunday.
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