Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top infectious-disease expert, is again cautioning against large-scale gatherings of people without masks.

President Donald Trump is planning to convene another large crowd outside the White House on Saturday. Trump’s Rose Garden event announcing Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee on Sept 26 has been labeled a “super-spreader” for the coronavirus.

Fauci said of the Rose Garden event in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday: “I was not surprised to see a super-spreader event given the circumstances. Crowded, congregate setting, not wearing masks. It is not surprising to see an outbreak.”