While Americans are being barred from attending Easter services in their cars, the head of the National Institute for Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci, was heard endorsing the use of “hook up” apps like Tinder and Grindr.
In an interview for Snapchat, Dr. Fauci appears to contravene official guidance regarding slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Fauci is asked by host Peter Hamby:
On the opposite side of that spectrum, people are cooped up, they’re a little stir crazy. 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?
He responds:
You know, that’s tough. Because it’s what’s called relative risk. 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. And it 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.
While Americans aren't allowed to attend Easter services in their cars, Dr. #Fauci says of using Tinder/Grindr:
"If you want to go a little bit more intimate, well, then that’s your choice regarding a risk."
This is TOTALLY out of line with #30DaystoSlowTheSpread guidelines. pic.twitter.com/edNG8Iz50Y
— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) April 16, 2020
Fauci’s endless stream of media interviews, as well as his propensity to make unclear and off-the-cuff remarks has been the subject of consternation for weeks.
Dr. Fauci even admitted to using a “poor choice of words” in other interviews just a few days ago:
“When people discuss — not necessarily in front of the president — people discuss, they say, ‘Well you know, this is gonna have maybe a harmful effect on this or on that’. So it was a poor choice of words. There wasn’t anybody saying, ‘No, you shouldn’t do that’, ” Fauci said.
Fauci was talking about another interview he gave where he seemed to imply an earlier U.S. shutdown would have saved lives. The incident led to President Trump retweeting a “#FireFauci” hashtag.