Fauci pleads: Skip the Super Bowl parties

• “You don’t want parties with people that you haven’t had much contact with,” infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci told NBC’s “Today” show on Wednesday.

"Every time we do have something like this, there always is a spike."

• “You just don’t know if they’re infected, so, as difficult as that is, at least this time around, just lay low and cool it.”

The CDC is giving the same guidance. It recommends avoiding nonessential travel, as well as indoor gatherings with people who don't live in the same household.

The big picture: Nationwide cases and hospitalizations are falling from early January's terrifying highs.

• But that progress can be undone with another round of potential superspreader events.