Anthony Fauci Called Santa Claus Exempted From Thanksgiving Travel Ban

JAKARTA - A number of health officials from the United States (US) have appealed to residents not to travel for Thanksgiving next week. The holiday season this year will probably be very quiet but in fact it can be very dangerous.

An interesting idea was conveyed by a well-known health expert in the country, Anthony Fauci. To USA Today, Fauci said Santa Claus might be a savior.

According to Fauci, Santa Claus will not stop visiting homes. "Santa Claus is exempt from this (ban) because Santa Claus, of all good qualities, has a lot of good innate immunity," Fauci said, quoted Tuesday, November 24.

"Santa Claus won't spread any infection to anyone," he added. Even so, many called Fauci's words absurd.

This year's Christmas is definitely different. A number of parties will not present Santa Claus in the usual years. Malls will place Santa Claus behind a plexiglass barrier. Others, Santa Claus will be presented virtually, either via video call or in the form of artificial intelligence through AskSanta.com.

Despite Old Saint Nick's immunity, Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said Santa Claus still has to get a vaccine for COVID-19 once it's available.

"I hear the ventilation in Santa's workshop is not the best, and opening windows in Arctic winter is problematic," he told a news outlet.

“The good news is the mask obedience there is pretty good, and the elves are committed to keeping their distance. Doris has implemented a routine testing program and deer are now leading contact tracing. "