College football was truly back this past weekend and with it came stadiums full of frenzied fans cheering on their favorite teams. Given the way the COVID-19 pandemic prevented such gatherings last year and how the United States is still dealing with the virus, shots of massive crowds of people made for some divided opinions on social media.
https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1434227467510820871
One person whose opinion on large gatherings certainly carries a lot of weight is Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci appeared on CNN on Tuesday morning and expressed major concerns over the large, maskless crowds, even if they’re taking place outside.
“I don’t think it’s smart,” Fauci told CNN. “Outdoors is always better than indoors, but even when you have such a congregate setting of people close together – first, you should be vaccinated. And when you do have congregate settings, particularly indoors, you should be wearing a mask.”
Dr. Fauci criticizes colleges for hosting packed college football games: “I don’t think it’s smart” pic.twitter.com/Jlappir5K9
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 7, 2021
Fauci noted that the United States is still in “outbreak mode” and will continue to be so until the daily average of infection cases goes down.
In the meantime, we have seen many stadiums across the country mandate that anyone entering must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. While many of those requirements are coming from pro sports franchises and stadiums, there are some college stadiums making that a necessity as well. It remains to be seen how those restrictions will affect attendance across the country.
[CNN]
