Dr. Anthony Fauci gives advice in video with city councilman
Online chat lasted nearly eight minutes
LAFAYETTE >> The coronavirus creeps on, spreading death and economic hardship in its wake. But Dr. Anthony Fauci wants people to know that lockdowns, wearing masks and social distancing will be over someday.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, gave the message in an unlikely setting — during about an eight- minute online chat with Lafayette City Councilman Cameron Burks that was posted Wednesday.
The positive message aside, why did Fauci, a national figure wrestling with a global health crisis, end up spending time with Burks, a representative of a city likely little known outside the Bay Area with a population of about 24,000?
It’s simple, the councilman said. He reached out. And Fauci responded.
For 12 years, ending in 2010, Burks worked for the U.S. State Department as a member of the Foreign Service.
“I know a lot of people in Washington,” said Burks, who added that he considers his talk with Fauci a public service announcement for local residents.
“My goal was to give some aspiration to the people of Lafayette, to lift their spirits, especially now in the holidays,” he said. “Hopefully, if people see the video they will take things more seriously. They will wear masks, they will social distance and we will have a safer community.”
During the talk, Fauci welcomed the introduction of a vaccine to combat the virus.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “That light is a vaccine that is being rolled out gradually.”
The video posted on YouTube comes as California has undergone a surge of deaths amid COVID-19 before Christmas as hospitals struggle with capacity and a staggering caseload that shows few signs of abating.
Fauci acknowledged the crisis with the councilman,
Local officials tallied 363 deaths Tuesday, a high trailing only the 428 deaths tallied Dec. 16 and far outpacing the previous mid-July peak of 215 deaths.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed by the rising need for care; as of Monday, there were 17,843 coronavirus patients hospitalized statewide, according to the California Department of Public Health.
During his talk with Burks, Fauci said California has been hit hard with COVID-19, especially given its size.
“You people in Lafayette have really tried very hard to (adhere) the public health principles that I have been speaking about now for months and months — the universal wearing of masks, the keeping physical distance, the avoiding crowds and in congregate settings, particularly indoors; doing things outdoors as often as you possibly can, rather than indoors, and washing your hands as frequently as possible,” Fauci said during the conversation.
Fauci also called for widespread public vaccinations.
“The more people we get vaccinated in the country, the quicker we will get to the point where will be able to return to normal,” the health expert said.