Fauci tells Americans to lay low to prevent a Super Bowl super spreader

Another reason to gather is another way for virus cases to spike, Fauci said, adding that Super Bowl parties should be kept to a minimum with immediate family and household members only.

By Brianna Kraemer

Published: February 3, 2021 10:21am

Updated: February 3, 2021 11:11am

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, is warning Americans to avoid house parties and other large-scale events when watching the Super Bowl game on Sunday to keep from spreading the coronavirus.

“You don’t want parties with people that you haven’t had much contact with,” he told NBC’s "Today" show on Wednesday morning.

Fauci, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director and a coronavirus adviser to the Trump and Biden administrations, said Americans should instead watch the NFL championship game on TV with immediate family and household members.

Health experts have said that large gatherings with non-immediate family members and/or friends were a major cause over the past several months in the spike in the U.S. or coronavirus cases.

About 22,000 people will be allowed inside the stadium to watch the NFL's final game of the season in-person in Tampa, Fla. between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.