Fauci calls White House ceremony a super-spreader event

WASHINGTON • Dr Anthony Fauci, the top United States infectious disease expert, said that a gathering in the White House Rose Garden last month was a "super-spreader event" for the coronavirus.

He also said US President Donald Trump's talk about an experimental Covid-19 treatment he received as "a cure" may cause confusion.

Mr Trump held a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on Sept 26 to honour Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

While the White House had a testing regime in place to screen for virus cases, few guests wore masks and attendees mingled and sat in close proximity to one another, both indoors and outdoors. Subsequently, the President and several top staff, as well as senators and military officials, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Dr Fauci said in an interview on Friday with CBS News Radio: "We had a super-spreader event in the White House. And it was in a situation where people were crowded together, were not wearing masks. So the data speak for themselves."

He said that people who are infected with the coronavirus but are not yet showing symptoms can transmit the pathogen to others, which makes the case for wearing face coverings.

Asymptomatic individuals "are a substantial part of the people that actually transmit infections to other people", he said. "So the better part of the recommendation would be everybody wear a mask, literally universally."

Asked about Mr Trump's effusive praise for Regeneron's antibody treatment, Dr Fauci said talking about a "cure" could be misleading because it has not yet been proven, and the drugs that are currently available have been shown to have only modest to moderate results.

"We don't have any indication - I think you really have to depend on what you mean by a cure, because that's the word that leads to a lot of confusion," he said.

BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE