Dr. Anthony Fauci now says Americans must "always" be “prepared” to return to living under harsh COVID restrictions if cases surge again, despite dropping cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
While the NIAID Director said he “[doesn’t] see” any precipitous return to COVID lockdowns, the country – and, presumably, the government bodies that run it – must “always have to have the flexibility” and be “prepared” to reinstate restrictions – restrictions that throughout the past two years have included mask mandates, vaccine passports, travel bans, forced store closures, and social distancing.
Speaking on ABC's "This Week," host George Stephanopoulos asked Fauci if there is "any reason to reverse" the "relaxation of restrictions" that even many far-left cities have seen in recent weeks.
"I don't think so, George, not right now. I don't see us going back into any more really very strict kinds of restrictions. But you always have to have the flexibility," he said.
"Remember when the CDC came out with the modification of their metrics which would lead to the guidelines of what regions or counties in the country should have a masking indoor, they made it very clear that as you pull back on restrictions, if we do see a significant surge, particularly one that might result in increased hospitalizations, we have to be prepared to pivot and perhaps reinstitute some of those restrictions. But right now at this point George, I don't see that," he went on.
FAUCI: If we see a surge in cases, "we have to be prepared to pivot and perhaps reinstitute some of those restrictions." pic.twitter.com/e2JMxGM3c2
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 20, 2022
When asked by Stephanopolous if he was ready to “rest” and exit the public stage as the pandemic comes to an end, Fauci said that it wasn’t the right time.
"I'm not so sure, George. I want to make sure we're really out of this before I really seriously consider doing anything different. We're still in this, we have a way to go, I think we're clearly going in the right direction. I hope we stay that way. "