Dr. Anthony Fauci will be visited by Father Time and Santa on Christmas Eve.
The infectious disease expert will turn 80 on Dec. 24.
Practicing what he preaches, the doc won’t be hosting an in-person party. “We’re going to have a Zoom celebration with my wife and I in my house, and my children scattered throughout the country,” Fauci explained to CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell during the Milken Institute’s Future of Health Summit, according to Business Insider.
Fauci is father to adult daughters Megan, Alison and Jennifer, who are in their late 20s and early 30s — and who followed his advice by not visiting for Thanksgiving this year.
He and his wife Christine Grady have come to terms with skipping in-person holiday celebrations. “We’ll get through it,” he told O’Donnell.
Like on turkey day, Fauci urged Americans to not travel or gather with loved ones to stop the spread of the coronavirus. “The Christmas issue even bothers me more than Thanksgiving,” he said, explaining that Thanksgiving travel tends to only last a few days, but Christmas trips often span a week’s time through New Years.
Although it was weeks ago, the effect Thanksgiving gatherings had on the spread of COVID-19 is yet to be fully understood, said Fauci.
As cases continue to rise at record-breaking rates, Fauci urged that Americans “double down” on safety precautions. He advised “wearing masks, avoiding crowds and congregate settings [and] keeping physical distance.”
“If we can do that together, pulling together as we get the vaccine rolled out, we should be OK, but it’s not going to happen spontaneously. We’re going to have to make the effort to do that.”