Fauci recommends use of goggles and face shields in addition to masks

Dr. Anthony Fauci, during an interview, suggested that if people want to fully protect themselves from coronavirus they should consider wearing goggles or a face shield, reports ABC News.

"If you have goggles or an eye shield, you should use it," said Fauci, who is the top infectious disease expert in the United States.

The 79-year-old director of  the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases gave the suggestion while speaking with Dr. Jennifer Ashton, the Chief Medical Correspondent for ABC.

When he was asked if wearing eye protection could turn into a formal recommendation, Fauci responded, "It might, if you really want perfect protection of the mucosal surfaces."

"You have mucosa in the nose, mucosa in the mouth, but you also have mucosa in the eye," he noted. "Theoretically, you should protect all the mucosal surfaces. So if you have goggles or an eye shield you should use it."

Fauci said that while the eye protection is "not universally recommended" at the moment, "if you really want to be complete, you should probably use it if you can."

He is also hopeful that the use of masks will restrict the spread of influenza in the fall.

"It is inevitable that we’re going to have some degree of flu," he said. "I’m hoping that the wearing of masks and other coverings are going to not only protect us against COVID-19, but also help protect us against influenza."

Fauci talked about when to get tested if you believe you have been exposed to the virus as there are no official recommendations or guidelines from the National Institutes of Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"That question came up at the task force meeting yesterday and we asked the same thing and we said there’s no real recommendation," Fauci said.

"I would think that five [days] is good. I might even go a day or so early because the incubation period of when you get symptoms is about five days," he said, adding that people should go "no earlier than three [days] or no later than five or six."

The use of face shields was also recommended by White House coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx who said that the they can provide more protection than just cloth face coverings.

"The mask protects others, to block those droplets and block that contamination that happens when you speak or sing or talk, or even breathe," said Birx on Thursday while making an appearance on "Fox & Friends."

"The thing about the face shields—we think that could protect the individuals and that it would decrease the ability for them to touch their eyes and spread the virus as well as those droplets coming towards them. So there are two different technologies for two different reasons."

Fauci also touched on hydroxychloroquine in a separate interview, noting that the anti-malarial drug is not an effective treatment for coronavirus, according to "valid" scientific data.

"You look at the scientific data and the evidence. And the scientific data … on trials that are valid, that were randomized and controlled in the proper way, all of those trials show consistently that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease or COVID-19," he said.

His comments come directly after President Trump pushed for COVID-19 patients to use the drug, which has become quite controversial.

Trump talked about the drug during a press briefing and his experience after taking the drug for two weeks.

"Many doctors think it is extremely good and some people don’t… I happen to believe in it. I would take it. As you know, I took it for a 14 day period and I’m here, right? I’m here," Trump said.

"It’s safe. It doesn’t cause problems. I had no problem. I had absolutely no problem — felt no different, didn’t feel good, bad or indifferent," he said. "It didn’t get me and it’s not going to hopefully hurt anybody."

Trump said he did not know what Fauci’s opinion of hydroxychloroquine was, adding that the two have a "good relationship."