"Republicans... pressed Fauci on [his statement] that the federal government’s recommendation for six-foot social distancing 'sort of just appeared'... 'wasn’t based on data.'"

"Fauci said Monday he meant there was no clinical trial to settle on the distance of six feet, and that officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who crafted the recommendation were basing the distance on early expectations of how the virus spread. The answer did not satisfy Republicans.... 'This six-foot rule crippled businesses, it allowed students to stay at home and not learn,' Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.) said. Other countries and the World Health Organization recommended a distance of about three feet of social distance, and experts said a similar measure in the United States would have allowed schools to reopen more quickly...."

From "Fauci dismisses ‘preposterous’ allegations that he led covid coverup/The infectious-disease expert said Republicans have distorted emails between scientists as they discussed whether a lab leak of the coronavirus was possible" (WaPo).