WASHINGTON 3 Apr (ANA) - Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and one of the main scientific touchstones amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will receive increased personal security protection after getting threats and unwelcome messages due to his leading role in the nation’s fight against the novel coronavirus.

Both The Washington Post and The New York Times reported late Wednesday that Fauci, 79, had been granted enhanced security by the Department of Health and Human Services. The shift comes as Fauci has issued increasingly dire warnings urging Americans to practice social distancing and that the worst is yet to come even after weeks of instability both at home and abroad.

“Yesterday, upon the recommendation of the U.S. Marshals Service, the department approved the special deputization request from H.H.S. for nine ... special agents to provide protective services for Dr. Fauci,” the Justice Department said in a statement to the Times.

It’s unclear what type of threats Fauci has received, although he has already become a target for right-wing conspiracy theories. But Alex Azar, the HHS secretary who has his own detail, has reportedly grown concerned about the rise in Fauci’s profile in recent weeks.(ANA)

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