Apr 15, 2020 - Health

Anthony Fauci envisions sports without fans amid coronavirus crisis

Axios

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaking on Snapchat — Photo via Snapchat's "Good Luck America"

Dr. Anthony Fauci joined Snapchat's Peter Hamby on his show "Good Luck America," and was asked about the possibility of abbreviated baseball, college football and NFL seasons this year.

What he said: "[P]eople say, 'Well you can't play without spectators.' Well, I think you'd probably get enough buy-in from people who are dying to see a baseball game. Particularly me. I'm living in Washington. We have the world champion Washington Nationals. You know, I want to see them play again."

Fauci said the best way to perhaps begin baseball on TV — say, around July 4 — would be to get players extensively tested and put them in hotels:

"Keep them very well surveilled ... have them tested, like every week. By a gazillion tests. And make sure they don't wind up infecting each other or their family. And just let them play the season out. I mean, that's a really artificial way to do it, but when you think about it, it might be better than nothing."

Between the lines: Policymakers worry that millennials, who are more likely to be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, aren't taking social-distancing measures seriously enough, which could lead to an uptick in cases amongst America's more vulnerable, elderly populations, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.

Fauci's interview will air across three episodes of "Good Luck America," debuting on Snapchat today, Thursday and Friday. Each goes live at 6 a.m. ET.

Go deeper: No one knows when the coronavirus sports shutdown will end

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Anthony Fauci envisions sports without fans amid coronavirus crisis

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