Dr. Anthony Fauci Thinks It Will Be ‘Very Difficult’ For Sports To Return This Year
May 4, 2020, 11:15 AM
(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The leading public health expert on President Trump’s coronavirus task force, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci thinks it will be difficult to bring sports back this year.
According to the New York Times, Dr. Fauci said last week that a key variable will be whether or not the country can gain access to testing that quickly yields results.
Dr. Fauci mentioned that manufacturers had made great strides in developing such tests but it is not enough for major sports competitions to resume.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the leading public health expert on President Trump’s coronavirus task force, said that it might be very difficult for major sports in the United States to return to action this year https://t.co/1yL9gHGKkY
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 29, 2020
“Safety, for the players and for the fans, trumps everything,” Dr. Fauci said. “If you can’t guarantee safety, then unfortunately you’re going to have to bite the bullet and say, ‘We may have to go without this sport for this season.’”
Some leagues have announced that they will return to competition but will not have fans in attendance and they will be very strict in how they handle testing.
“I would love to be able to have all sports back,” Dr. Fauci said. “But as a health official and a physician and a scientist, I have to say, right now, when you look at the country, we’re not ready for that yet.”
The President and some state governors are looking at options to resume sports in empty stadiums but Dr. Fauci said that if sports returns prematurely that the country could return to where we were a few weeks ago.
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- Avoid close contact with people who may be sick
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Additional Resources
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Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.