Turns out, Santa Claus’ year-long quarantine in the North Pole has served him well this year.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told USA Today the man in red “is exempt” from all the COVID-19 restrictions because, “of all the good qualities” he possesses, Kris Kringle “has a lot of good innate immunity.”
“Santa is not going to be spreading any infections to anybody,” added Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
So kids around the world can rest easy: Santa is safe.
Fauci isn’t alone in ruling Santa Claus safe from the pandemic.
Last week, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte responded publicly to a 5-year-old boy named Thomas who was worried Babbo Natale wouldn’t circle the globe on his sleigh this Christmas Eve.
Santa, Conte told the boy, has an “international self-certification” and can “travel anywhere and distribute gifts to all children around the world, without any limitation.”
“He then confirmed that he always uses a mask and keeps the right distance to protect himself and all the people he meets,” the prime minister added of Mr. Claus.
Even with his impeccable immune system, Santa Claus does fall into a higher risk category, USA Today noted, because of his weight and age. So some are urging him to get the vaccine once it’s available.
Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said Father Christmas should get immunized because he’s inside with his elves a lot.
“I hear the ventilation in Santa’s worship is not the best, and opening windows in North Pole winters is problematic,” he said. “The good news is that mask compliance there is pretty good, and the elves are committed to social distancing. Mrs. Claus has implemented a program of regular testing and the reindeers now lead contact tracing.”