Like many of you, Stephen Curry has a lot of questions about the novel coronavirus that continues to devastate countries around the world. So, in an effort to get all the facts and spread important information, the NBA star conducted an interview with Dr. Anthony Stephen Fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and who New York Times has described as the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases.
Curry took to Instagram Live on Thursday to ask Fauci some of the most common questions about the deadly disease: How does COVID-19 differ from the flu (1:20)? What ways does it affect different age groups (2:30)? And what precautionary measures people can take to flatten the curve (4:11)?
Fauci reiterated that the older population and those with underlying health conditions were at greater risk of death; however, he noted that young, healthy people weren't exempt from becoming severely sick. He stressed the importance of social distancing and self isolation, as some infected people could experience very little symptoms but inadvertently spread the disease to someone who is much more vulnerable.
"There are some people who are younger, people your age ... who don't have any underlying conditions, who are getting seriously ill ..." he said. "That's the reason why we talk about being very careful—physical distancing, doing the kind of social separation—it means not only for the elderly, but the young people have to do it too ... We really do have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable ones."
Fauci then broke down what steps people should take if they starts exhibiting symptoms associated with COVID-19. He urged listeners who develop flu-like symptoms to stay at home at first, and call their doctor for further instructions. Fauci recommended against going to the emergency room—unless one is experiencing severe symptoms.
Curry then brought up the question of herd immunity, and whether someone who recovered the virus can catch it again.
"If you're infected and you recover, the question is: When can you go out and be safe to not infect others?" Fauci began. "The general rule is you have to have two cultures 24 hours apart that are negative ... As more people get infected, that likely is not going to be feasible, so we're going to have to set some guidelines."
He continued: "... Once you get infected, can you get reinfected? We haven't done the specific testing to determine that, but if this acts like every virus similar to it that we know, the chances are overwhelming that if you get infected, recover from infection, that you are not going to get infected with the same virus. Which means you can then safely go out into the community and feel immune."
Fauci also pointed out that many viruses, like seasonal influenza, tend to do poorly as the weather gets warmer. But he stressed that it's currently unclear if COVID-19 cases will go down as the warm-weather months roll in, as this is the first time researchers have had to deal with the virus.
You can watch the full Q&A in the video above. The two also discuss the projected timeframe for a vaccine, the need for varying restrictions across the country, and not allowing fear to paralyze you.
"There's a dichotomy between people who are frightened to death and people who don't even believe it," Fauci said. "It's not convenient to lock yourself in, it's not convenient for you [Curry] to not be playing basketball ... but we're going through a time when we have to pull together as a country to not get intimidated and do the kinds of things that can put an end to it."
According to the New York Times, there were at least 81,321 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of Thursday; this is more cases than any country, including China and Italy, have seen.
