Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pushed for local governments to institute mask mandates in a Facebook Live press conference with Alabama Sen. Doug Jones. “I’m strongly in favor of mandating things,” Fauci said. “If you do that, I think it’ll be a giant step towards interfering with the spread in the community.” Fauci said that while he is not in favor of authoritative decisions from the federal government, he believes local governments should institute such mandates. Several states including California, New York, and Texas have issued mask mandates.