Top US infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said that the recent rash of infections at the White House could have been prevented, Reuters reported.

“Take a look at what happened this week at the White House,” Fauci said in an interview with American University’s Kennedy Political Union, when asked what advice he had about how people could discuss preventive actions with relatives who believed the pandemic was a hoax.

“That is a reality, right there. And every day that goes by more people are popping up that are infected. It’s not a hoax. It’s an unfortunate situation when you see something like that because that could have been prevented,” Fauci said.

Fauci has been a long-time advocate of wearing face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.