The Head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci says the NBA's strategy of resuming play will be "quite successful." Fauci spoke about the league's plan in an interview with The Stadium.

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“I actually have looked at that plan and it is really quite creative,” Fauci said. “What they are really trying to do, and I think they might very well be quite successful with it, is to create a situation where it is as safe as it possibly could be for the players by creating this bubble — essentially testing everybody, make sure that you start with a baseline of everybody being negative and trying to make sure there is no influx into that cohort of individuals and do a tournament-type play.”

“They really wanted to make sure that the safety of the players, and the people associated with the players, was paramount,” Fauci said.

The NBA is planning to return on July 30, with 22 teams competing in Orlando Florida. Games will take place entirely in the Wide World of Sports Complex.

“For the people who are thirsting for basketball, who love basketball, the way I do, it’s something that I think is a sound plan,” Fauci said.

President Donald Trump plans to keep the country open during a potential second wave of coronavirus, later this year.

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Earlier this week, Trump was asked for his thoughts on a return of the virus after reopening the country.

“People say that’s a very distinct possibility. It’s standard,” Trump responded. “And we’re going to put out the fires. We’re not going to close the country. We’re going to put out the fires. Whether it’s an ember or a flame, we’re going to put it out. But we’re not closing our country.”

Various experts have warned that COVID-19 could make a strong return in the fall or winter, later this year, after dropping off during the summer.

“There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield told the Washington Post. “And when I’ve said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don’t understand what I mean. We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time.”

“I hope that if we do have the threat of a second wave, we will be able to deal with it very effectively, to prevent it from becoming an outbreak not only worse than now, but much, much less,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said of a potential second wave, earlier this month.

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Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci has seen viral fame since being thrust into the spotlight as the man updating the United States on the COVID-19 outbreak. CNN asked Fauci what the odds are that he makes an appearance on Saturday Night Live and who should play him.

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"I have no idea," he laughs. "I hope not." The interviewer offers up Brad Pitt and Ben Stiller as options to play him. "Brad Pitt, of course," he remarks.

SNL has been off the air for the last month during the Coronavirus pandemic but is set to return on April 11. The show is using the hashtag "#SNLAtHome" to promote the premiere.

"The virus kind of decides whether it’s favorable to open or not. I would want to see us clearly and strongly going in the right direction," Fauci says in the interview.

Fauci went on to note that Easter is not an excuse to cut down on the social distancing guidelines: "Even though we’re in a holiday season, now is no time to back off."

As of April 11, there have been 525,816 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the United States and over 20,000 deaths nationwide.

The Coronavirus pandemic is striking North America hard but the United States is facing far more cases currently in comparison to the rest of the world. It was reported this week that the United States has the highest amount of cases as it recently reached 81,378. This means that it’s surpassed both China and Italy but unfortunately, it looks like the numbers will keep climbing.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, went on CNN where he revealed that the United States is expecting millions of cases but what’s scarier is that the death toll will likely hit six-figures. He said that there’s anywhere from 100K to 200K Coronavirus deaths expected from Coronavirus currently. The millions who will contract the disease aren’t even part of the worst-case scenario which he describes as a model that estimates the impact of the virus.

I would say between 100,000 and 200,000 cases,” he said before correcting himself and adding that’s the estimated death roll. “We’re going to have millions of cases.” He did add, “I don’t want to be held to that” because the pandemic is volatile. 

The number of deaths in the United States doubled in the past twenty-four hours, bringing the toll up to over 2,000. It appears to be extremely unlikely that it would be safe for the country to reopen by Easter as the president previously suggested would happen. Given the fact that Fauci’s been heavily involved with the developments in the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be wise to listen to him in this situation.