Adm. Giroir: Not clear if Christmas travel will lead to surge in Covid cases

Giroir, a four-star admiral, is serving as director of U.S. coronavirus diagnostic testing. He said that during the holiday season, as has been true for months, the most important factor is how careful Americans are.

“I really encourage people to follow the CDC guidelines, make your family gatherings small, safe, protect the elderly and we can get through this,” he said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, speaking to host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said it was quite possible there might be a post-holiday surge even if people are careful.

“There’s no guarantee it’ll happen, but there certainly is a danger of that. When you travel — you see pictures on the TV screens, Dana, of people at airports crowded in lines, trying to stay physically separated. But it’s so difficult to do that,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Almost 19 million cases of coronavirus have been diagnosed in the United States. The current death toll is 331,930, by far the highest in the world.