
As US officials continue to re-examine whether the general public should wear masks, the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, emphasized that masks should not be viewed as a substitute for continuing to practice social distancing.
"The most important thing is to keep this six-foot physical distance from individuals, but it's become clear that even when you try to do that with certain necessities of life — going out to get food or going to a pharmacy to get your medications — that you may inadvertently come into closer contact," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on "Fox & Friends" Friday morning.
He added:
"Because of that and because of some recent information that the virus can actually be spread even when people just speak as opposed to coughing and sneezing, the better part of valor is that when you're out and you can't maintain that six-foot distance to wear some sort of facial covering ... So this is an addendum and an addition to the physical separation, not as a substitute for it."