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As universities across the country look at their reopening plans for the fall, Dr. Anthony Fauci said, “masks should be done at all times, without exception.”
Speaking to the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday, Fauci said there is no “one size fits all” approach to school openings across the country – but masks are a must.
“If you have very, very few cases like in a small college in a county, I think you can be really very liberal in the opening,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In other areas, schools will have to get find “a very creative way” to keep students physically distanced. “You’ve got to protect the vulnerables. You’ve got to allow both faculty, as well as students who are in that category of underlying conditions, to be able to have the capability of either teaching or learning online,” Fauci said.
“The other thing is — people who work with the students, namely people who feed them, people who clean, they need to be also paid attention to,” Fauci said.
Fauci likened colleges to cruise ships or nursing homes. “It’s the staff who might bring in an infection, and then infect the individuals who are in a much larger group,” he said.
Additionally, Fauci said there needs to be a plan in place for when someone does become infected.
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