It wasn’t supposed to be this way as the Fourth of July approached. The new cases of COVID-19 registered on July 1 wasn’t supposed to set a new single-day record. Numbers weren’t supposed to be skyrocketing as temperatures increased.
But it has happened, and Dr. Anthony Fauci recognized during a Thursday appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio that this “disturbing resurgence” of the virus has made it a “moving target” as football season approaches.
He pointed to the current explosion of cases in California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida, and he added that other cities and states are demonstrating a resurgence. If things were stable (as many had expected them to be), it would be easier to have confidence regarding football season. Given the resurgence, everything is in a “state of flux” now.
And it’s just the beginning. Dr. Fauci has “great concern” regarding the behavior of the virus in the fall and winter months, as the “confluence” of COVID-19 and influenza cases occurs.
He emphasized a point that can’t be emphasized enough: Wear a mask. Wear a mask. Wear a mask.
The politicization of that issue has begun to subside, in part because anti-mask politicians have begun to realize it’s not a sustainable issue. The more that people wear masks, the less that the virus will spread, and the greater the chance that football will start -- and finish.
So will either happen?
“I really cannot make any type of prediction,” Dr. Fauci said. “It’s completely in flux.”
Indeed it is. Hopefully, we won’t get fluxed out of a football season.