Bernie Sanders Asks Fauci About Dangers of Airlines Filling Planes to Capacity
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is voicing concerns about the federal government’s failure to enforce social distancing guidelines in the aviation and transportation industries, namely American Airlines. During Tuesday’s…
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is voicing concerns about the federal government’s failure to enforce social distancing guidelines in the aviation and transportation industries, namely American Airlines.
During Tuesday’s hearing with the Senate Health Committee, Sanders asked Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ Dr. Anthony Fauci why the federal government is not making more of an effort to enforce social distancing guidelines on buses and airplanes.
“We’re told over and over again … stay apart, at least six feet apart, if you can,” Sanders said.
He continued, “Just the other day, however, American Airlines announced they were going to fill up all of their planes, and other airlines have done the same. So you’re going to have people going from New York to California, five, six hours, sitting inches apart from each other.”
Sanders also noted that the problem spans further than the aviation industry as he highlighted how bus riders across the U.S. are typically packed on buses “like sardines.”
Sanders wanted to know why has the federal government not issued guidelines to prevent that from occurring.
Fauci acknowledged Sanders’ concerns saying, “Obviously, that is something of concern. I’m not sure what went into that decision-making.”