Tony's Diary Package — page 237

Opinion by Jennifer Rubin Columnist July 5, 2020 at 7:45 a.m. EDT In Senate testimony and interviews, Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sounded the alarm: We are not winning in the battle against the novel coronavirus. Even more important than that was his insistence that we all wear masks in public. Consider what he told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Tuesday when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asked if masks should be given away for free: "There's no doubt that wearing masks protects you," Fauci said. "Anything that furthers the use of masks, whether it's giving out free masks or any other mechanism, I am thoroughly in favor of." President Trump has been the main impediment to mask-wearing, choosing to turn a vital public health measure into a sign of tribal identity. Fauci nevertheless has persisted in his message. This is hardly the first time Fauci has tried to get Americans to adopt the simple, lifesaving practice. ("Everybody should wear a mask when out [in] public," he said in June. In late May he told CNN, "I want to protect myself and protect others, and also because I want to make it be a symbol for people to see that that's the kind of thing you should be doing." The advice took on fresh urgency as he warned that the country could experience as many as 100,000 new cases a day. The Post interviewed Fauci and other health experts about wearing masks. He was unequivocal. "It dominates everything I do. The only time I don't wear one is when I am alone, when I am home with my wife, or when I am speaking in public -- provided there is 6 feet between me and the people to whom I am speaking, as was the case when I answered questions at the recent congressional hearings." Last week the rate of infections spiked past 55,000 in a single day, and suddenly Republicans who had pooh-poohed mask-wearing and echoed Trump's disdain for masks were speaking up. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) finally proclaimed, "We must have no stigma, none, about wearing masks when we leave our homes and come near other people. Wearing simple face coverings is not about protecting ourselves, it is about protecting everyone we encounter." Too bad he didn't say that months or weeks ago -- or tell Trump to stop discouraging mask use. We seemed to reach a tipping point when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) finally put out a statewide order requiring masks. Other states fell into line as the infection and hospitalization rate soared. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) issued a shutdown order and