Americans should never shake hands again, according to National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
"When you gradually come back, you don't jump into it with both feet," Dr. Fauci, a leading health expert on the White House coronavirus task force, told The Wall Street Journal's podcast, Newsweek reported. "You say what are the things you could still do and still approach normal. One of them is absolute compulsive hand washing.
"The other is you don't ever shake anybody's hands."
Fauci added a recommendation for people to wear "cloth face protection" in the event they might come within six feet of others.
When pressed about the task force not abiding by the mask or six-feet guidelines, Fauci demurred.
"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good here," he said. "The task force group is a little bit different.
"Since we're around the president . . . it's got to be clear that we're not endangering him. So, I get tested frequently, and I get my temperature taken eight, nine times a day. Every time you go into a different room in the White House, you get your temperature taken.
"So I don't think you should judge the use or not of masks and physical separation what you see with the task force for the rest of the country, it really is different."
Fauci also recommended the country needs a new normal with respect to gatherings, restaurants and events.