Fauci: COVID-19 outbreaks would have to 'get really, really bad' before advocating for national lockdown

Fauci: COVID-19 outbreaks would have to 'get really, really bad' Speaking to “60 Minutes,” Fauci discusses a potential vaccine and how the country might handle the pandemic this winter. Alexandra Kelley TheHill

... even as the U.S. enters a potentially troubling winter season, Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious diseases expert, says that a nationwide lockdown may not be the best solution at this time. 

Speaking to “60 Minutes,” Fauci says outbreaks would have to “get really, really bad” before he would advocate for a national lockdown. ...

Dr. Jon LaPook: How bad would things have to get for you to advocate a national lockdown?

Dr. Anthony Fauci: They'd have to get really, really bad. First of all, the country is fatigued with restrictions. So we wanna use public health measures not to get in the way of opening the economy, but to being a safe gateway to opening the economy. So instead of having an opposition, open up the economy, get jobs back, or shut down. No. Put "shut down" away and say, "We're gonna use public health measures to help us safely get to where we wanna go."

Those measures were not in place last month in the rose garden when President Trump announced the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Dr. Jon LaPook: Were you surprised that President Trump got sick?

Dr. Anthony Fauci: Absolutely not. I was worried that he was going to get sick when I saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded, no separation between people, and almost nobody wearing a mask. When I saw that on TV, I said, "Oh my goodness. Nothing good can come outta that, that's gotta be a problem." And then sure enough, it turned out to be a superspreader event. ...