Fauci Says FL Bars, Restaurants Reopening Is 'Very Concerning'

MIAMI, FL – Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases, said he finds it "very concerning" that Florida has reopened its bars and restaurants amid rising coronavirus cases.

Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida was ready for its Phase 3 of reopening, allowing restaurants to operate at full capacity. In this phase, local governments may not order restaurants to close unless they can justify a closure for economic or health reasons.

"That is something we really need to be careful about because when you are dealing with community spread and you have the kind of congregate setting where people get together, particularly without wearing masks you’re really asking for trouble," Fauci told Good Morning America on Monday when asked about the DeSantis' announcement.

Bars, pubs, and nightclubs that derive more than 50 percent of sales from alcohol will be allowed to operate at full capacity with limited social distancing protocols. Under Phase 3, these businesses should maintain adequate sanitation practices among employees and patrons during all hours of operation.

"Now’s the time to really double down a bit," Fauci said. "And I don’t mean close. When I say that people get concerned that we’re talking about shutting down. We’re not talking about shutting anything down. We’re talking about common sense types of public health measures that we’ve been talking about all along."

Restaurants and food service establishments may also operate at full capacity with limited social distancing protocols.

"If you’re going to try, which you should try, to open up the economy and get things back to normal, if you do it in a prudent way – and a prudent way means focus on the things that are important – you can open up businesses, you can do things like that," Fauci said on GMA. "But when you start congregating in bars without masks or in congregate settings where people are crowded together indoors without masks, that’s asking for trouble."

On Tuesday, Florida's Department of Health reported 704,568 total cases of the coronavirus and 14,143 resident deaths, up from 695,887 cases and 13,915 deaths reported Friday.

Related:

• Phase 3 FL Reopening Means Bars, Restaurants At Full Capacity
• FL Reports More Than 14,000 Deaths From Coronavirus
• Miami-Dade School Board To Hold Emergency Meeting Tuesday