According to top US health expert Anthony Fauci, Santa “is exempt” from coronavirus infection and, “of all the good qualities, has a lot of good innate immunity”. Thus, Kris Kringle won’t be at risk of catching COVID-19 and transmitting it to his young admirers.
"Santa is not going to be spreading any infections to anybody," Fauci assured the USA Today.
But with soaring COVID-19 cases in the United States, even the coldest man with the warmest heart has been taking precautionary measures and now more commonly resorting to Zoom calls instead of in-personal meetings. Pediatricians have also been advising families to avoid bringing children to traditional crowds in shopping malls to meet with Santa, where social distancing cannot be practiced.
"Santa does not want the kids to line up waiting to see him because he doesn't want to spread germs. Santa gets sad if the kids or their families are sick," Gina Song, a pedriatrician at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, publicly advised.
"So this year, Santa will be watching you from afar, giving you the gift of good health and will only visit when no one is around on Christmas Eve,” the doctor said.