Anthony Fauci's tip for Tinder hook-ups: 'Do it if you're willing to take a risk'
Dr Anthony Fauci, a key member of President Donald Trump's coronavirus taskforce, has said that lonely American citizens can hook up with asymptomatic Tinder matches but, of course, at their own risk.
The 79-year-old shared the dating tip while doing an interview on Tuesday, April 14, on Snapchat's 'Good Luck America'. The top infectious disease expert was seen a bit out of his element when asked to offer up some dating advice given the pandemic.
Towards the end of the interview, Fauci was asked, "If you're swiping on a dating app like Tinder or Bumble or Grindr, and you match with someone that you think is hot, and you’re just kind of like, 'Maybe it’s fine if this one stranger comes over'. What do you say to that person?" Vanity Fair reported.
He then called it a 'relative risk' and explained, "If you really feel that you don't want to have any part of this virus, will you maintain six feet away, wear a mask, do all the things that we talk about in the guidelines? If you're willing to take a risk — and you know, everybody has their own tolerance for risks — you could figure out if you want to meet somebody."
He went on to add how it also depends "on the level of the interaction that you want to have". "If you're looking for a friend, sit in a room and put a mask on, and you know, chat a bit. If you want to go a little bit more intimate, well, then that's your choice regarding a risk," he said.
He further added how there are a lot of asymptomatic infections "which become really problematic". Fauci had also explained that there are well-documented cases that show a considerable amount of transmission from an asymptomatic person.
Over the weekend, Fauci's fate as one of the top medical experts leading the White House's coronavirus task force looked a bit shaky. He had spoken to CNN and said that the US would have 'obviously' saved lives if the virus mitigation efforts had begun earlier.
POTUS Trump responded to this by sharing a tweet reposting Fauci's speech and added, "Time to #FireFauci." On April 13, Trump again went on to say that Fauci's job was totally safe. According to many Republicans, Trump has complained about Fauci's positive media attention.
On April 14, Trump had shared that some states may be able to open before May 1, which is when the administration's '30 days to slow the spread' advice ends. "The day must be close because certain states as you know are in much different condition. It's going to be very, very close," Trump had said and added, "Maybe even before the date of May 1st."
However, Fauci said that Trump's May 1 date of reopening the economy was "overly optimistic". "We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we’re not there yet," Fauci said.
There have been 2,064,115 confirmed cases of coronavirus globally so far while there have been 639,628 confirmed cases in the US, as per data from John Hopkins.