\u201cAmericans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing,\u201d Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Fauci, appearing on all the major Sunday morning television shows, warned that it could be several weeks to a few months before life in the U.S. begins to return to normal. Dr. Fauci urged people to work from home if they can and practice \u201csocial distancing\u201d to prevent a potentially catastrophic spike in infections.<\/p>\n
He said he wouldn\u2019t eat at crowded restaurants or fly on planes unless it is necessary, advice that he said applies especially to older Americans and those with health conditions. He said parents should think twice about sending their children out to crowded playgrounds. And young people, even though they appear to be less vulnerable, could be endangering the lives of their grandparents or elderly relatives by not heeding public health warnings, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea to congregate anybody anywhere,\u201d Dr. Fauci said on CBS\u2019s \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Dr. Fauci issued his warnings, the Trump administration grappled with how to handle an influx of Americans and other travelers into the country, who were clogging customs at major airports in response to the European travel ban.<\/p>\n