Dr. Fauci shares some tips on Tinder hookups during the lockdown

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the man who has single-handedly made nerdy the new sexy, recently addressed a very important question that's been haunting stir-crazy Americans during the lockdown. Taking his media tour onto Snapchat earlier this week, the 79-year-old made an appearance on the platform's daily political show Good Luck America during which he knocked down a few conspiracy theories and answered questions about the fate of music fests, sports events, and dating apps. In the interview, taped on Tuesday and airing in episodes throughout the week, host Peter Hamby brought to Dr. Fauci's attention the plight of single Americans cooped up in their homes, fighting the urge to invite a date over.

"People are cooped up, they're a little stir crazy. 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?" Hamby asked the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, reports Vanity Fair. Giving his expert opinion on the pressing matter, Dr. Fauci replied that it's all about weighing the pros and cons.

"You know that’s tough," he said, "Because it’s what’s called relative risk. 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? 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. And it depends 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," he added. However, before you go orchestrating a full-blown orgy at your house—"because Dr. Fauci said it's okay"—bear in mind his warning too. The father-of-three pointed out that "the one thing you don’t want to do" is base your decision on whether the person is feeling well. "Even though there’s a lot of asymptomatic infections, that’s one of the things that’s really troublesome. That if everybody transmitted would only transmit when they’re sick, that would be much easier. But what we’re seeing, which becomes really problematic, is that there’s a considerable amount of transmission from an asymptomatic person," he said.

"And we’ve got well-documented now, you know, that situation on the nuclear carrier, the Roosevelt, USS Roosevelt, where hundreds of sailors have gotten infected from people that were not sick. That’s tough," Dr. Fauci concluded. Hamby also brought up the good doctor's newfound status as the internet's boyfriend, asking him about a popular petition making the rounds of the internet to name him People Magazine's 'Sexiest Man Alive.' "When you were a good Catholic boy, you went to Holy Cross, did you ever think you’d be a popular candidate for Sexiest Man Alive?" the host asked cheekily.

Dr. Fauci, with a swag that makes us love him more, replied: "Well, no. Absolutely not. But as I often say, when they, when they show this to me at my age, I say, 'Where were you when I was 30?'" I get what he means. Just look at young Dr. Fauci!