The Political Insider

White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said recently that he and his wife will not be seeing his three adult children for Christmas due to the coronavirus pandemic, and encouraged other Americans to do the same.

Fauci made his comments in an interview with the Washington Post’s Power Up newsletter. 

RELATED: Report: Dozens Of Police Officers Leaving New York City Due To ‘Anti-Cop’ Climate

Fauci: ‘Just One Of The Things You’re Going To Have To Accept’

“I’m going to be with my wife – period,” Fauci told the Post. “The Christmas holiday is a special holiday for us because Christmas Eve is my birthday.”

Fauci will turn 80 on Christmas Eve.

“And Christmas Day is Christmas Day,” Fauci continued. “And they are not going to come home…” he added, referring to his children.

“That’s painful,” Fauci admitted. “We don’t like that. But that’s just one of the things you’re going to have to accept as we go through this unprecedented challenging time.”

‘This Cannot Be Business As Usual This Christmas’

Fauci said that too many Americans did not take the necessary health precautions at Thanksgiving this year and warned that the upcoming Christmas holiday cannot be “business as usual.”

“Stay at home as much as you can, keep your interactions to the extent possible to members of the same household,” Fauci said.

He added, “This cannot be business as usual this Christmas because we’re already in a very difficult situation, and we’re going to make it worse, if we don’t do something about it.”

RELATED: AOC Frustrated About Biden’s “Horrible, Revolving Door” Transition Team Full Of Corporate Bigwigs

Will you forego seeing your kids this Christmas?

Fauci did say he believes there is a good chance that with the vaccines coming, next Christmas could be back to normal.

“It is highly likely that with vaccines being distributed, that we will be back to normal by next Christmas,” Fauci said.

So how many Americans are going to actually forego seeing their children this Christmas?

Perhaps after some backlash for his comments to the Washington Post, Fauci later moderated his language, claiming he doesn’t want to “cancel Christmas.”

“Please do what I suggested for Thanksgiving,” Fauci told ABC News on December 22. “We don’t want to cancel Christmas, but you have to tone down plans.”

“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” he added.