(CNN) – Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Chief Medical Expert of U.S in the pandemic of coronavirus and a member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, he faces threats to his personal safety and now requires personal safety from the police at all times, including at home, a source confirmed to CNN.
A law enforcement official told CNN that the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency’s law enforcement arm, requested assistance from the US Marshals Service. USA after the threats to Fauci. The sheriffs then replaced HHS officials to act as personal security for the doctor.
The Washington Post He first reported the threats to Fauci and the increased security.
A source also confirmed to CNN last week that several members of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department were stationed at all times around Fauci’s home in the district. The source added that the increased visible police presence was a response to Fauci’s growing security threats, although the source of the threats was not identified.
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During the White House coronavirus task force briefing on Wednesday, Fauci was asked whether he or White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, who is also part of the task force , had received threats of any kind or had been assigned security. He said he couldn’t answer.
“Anything that has to do with security details should be asked to the HHS inspector general,” he said, referring to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Fauci’s response was quickly interrupted by Trump, who stepped onto the podium to say that the country’s most visible infectious disease expert doesn’t require protection.
“(He) doesn’t need security, everyone loves them,” Trump said. “On top of that, they would be in big trouble if they ever attacked.”
However, as Fauci’s profile in the pandemic crisis has grown, so has concern for his well-being. Fauci’s orientation to Trump to keep the country as confined as possible to help control the spread of the virus has not won fans among some fervent right-wing voices.
Fauci was one of the Trump team’s health advisers who encouraged the continuation of the current guidelines after the president heard from business leaders and some conservative allies that the restrictions were more damaging than the virus itself.
In fact, Trump’s decision to extend those guidelines came after Fauci and Birx made a strong presentation with the new models showing that between 100,000 and 200,000 people could die, a source familiar with the president’s decision told CNN.
“You don’t do the timeline, the virus does it,” Fauci told CNN last month when asked how long the new coronavirus could affect daily life in the United States.
“You could see it in a relatively shorter period of time, when you see the hint of flattening and falling,” he said, referring to the slower speed of the outbreak. “But you know, you can’t make an arbitrary decision until you see what you’re dealing with. You need the data. “
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