Dr Anthony Fauci says Americans CAN invite Tinder dates over to their homes, but only 'if they're willing to take a risk'

Dr Anthony Fauci has cautioned lonely Americans to invite a Tinder date over at their own risk. 

The nation's top infectious disease expert was taken a bit out of his element when he was asked to give some dating advice amid the pandemic during an interview with Vanity Fair. 

Fauci was asked: 'If you're swiping on a dating app like Tinder, or Bumble or Grindr, and you match with someone that you think is hot, and you're just kind of like, "Maybe it's fine if this one stranger comes over." What do you say to that person?' 

Calling it a 'relative risk,' Fauci explained: 'If you're willing to take a risk—and you know, everybody has their own tolerance for risks—you could figure out if you want to meet somebody.'

Dr Anthony Fauci has cautioned lonely Americans to invite a Tinder date over at their own risk. The nation's top infectious disease expert was taken a bit out of his element when he was asked to give some dating advise amid the pandemic

'If you really feel that you don't want to have any part of this virus, will you maintain six feet away, wear a mask, do all the things that we talk about in the guidelines?' Fauci asked in the interview. 

He then said it will also depend 'on the level of the interaction that you want to have'.

'If you're looking for a friend, sit in a room and put a mask on, and you know, chat a bit. If you want to go a little bit more intimate, well, then that's your choice regarding a risk,' Fauci said, adding that there's a lot of asymptomatic infections, 'which becomes really problematic'.

Fauci explained that there are well-documented cases that show a 'considerable amount of transmission from an asymptomatic person'.

Speculation about Fauci’s fate as one of the top medical experts leading the White House coronavirus task force swirled over the weekend after he told CNN that the US would have 'obviously' saved lives if virus mitigation efforts had started earlier.

President Donald Trump responded by reposting a tweet that included the line: 'Time to #FireFauci.'

On Monday, the president insisted Fauci’s job was safe, but Republicans close to the White House say Trump has complained about the immunologist’s positive media attention and has sought to leave him out of taskforce briefings. 

Trump said Tuesday that some states might be able to open before May 1, which is the date the administration's '30 Days to Slow the Spread' guidance ends.   

'The day must be close because certain states as you know are in much different condition. It's going to be very, very close,' Trump said. 

'Maybe even before the date of May 1st,' he mused Tuesday. 

Fauci, who has been been missing from the last two press briefings, said Tuesday that Trump's May 1 date of reopening the economy was 'a bit overly optimistic'.

'We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we’re not there yet,' Fauci said.