Fauci’s 2021 forecast: School reopenings, some ‘normalcy’ by fall

It’s been a grim December, and January is looking to be just as bleak as the coronavirus continues to ravage both California and the nation.

In a conversation broadcast online Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious diseases expert, talked to Gov. Gavin Newsom about why the pandemic has been so hard to control in California and across the U.S.

But he also offered some hope about the future, outlining his latest estimate on when things might get back to a greater semblance of normality and whether schools can safely reopen.

Here are some of Fauci’s thoughts on what 2021 might look like:

— Schools can safely reopen, even when there’s substantial community transmission

Fauci said the coronavirus acts very differently from the flu when it comes to children.

With the coronavirus, children seem to have lower levels of infection than the broader community.

“That was almost counterintuitive, but it’s turning out to be that