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Dr. Anthony Fauci believes American sports can return sooner than some are expecting, but only if strict protocols are in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Fauci said in a Snapchat interview that sports can happen in empty stadiums and with teams quarantined in hotels, rather than having players out and about in public where they might be exposed to the virus, or spreading it to others if they’ve unknowingly been exposed.

“There’s a way of doing that,” Fauci said. “Nobody comes to the stadium. Put them in big hotels, wherever you want to play . . . have them tested every week and make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family and just let them play the season out.”

Fauci said he’s sympathetic to the strong desire in America to see sports again, and that he’s a fan himself.

“I want to see them play again,” he said.

It would be asking a lot of players, coaches and other league staffers to quarantine in a hotel for an entire season, but they may be willing to do it if the alternative is canceling an entire season and losing their entire salaries. The details will need to be worked out, and the NFL will have the advantage of seeing how the NBA, MLB and NHL handle it before making any decisions at the start of football season. But Fauci sounded optimistic that sports will return this year.