White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci indicated that holiday gatherings with unvaccinated friends and relatives are relatively low risk, even though the Covid-19 variant spreading through the U.S. has caused “a lot more breakthrough infections.”

“If you are vaccinated, your family is vaccinated, you have friends who are vaccinated — and hopefully boosted — you can still enjoy a social gathering generally in a home,” Fauci said in an interview Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data, Covid hospitalizations increased by 20% in the past week. They have averaged about 68,000. More than 100,000 Covid patients were present at the hospital in September’s peak.

Although delta is still the most popular variant of American omicron, it’s expected that omicron cases will double in the next few days. On TuesdayAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, omicron was found in about 3% of all cases that were sequenced in the U.S. On ThursdayAccording to New York City officials, the Covid positiveity rate in New York City doubled between Dec. 9, when it was 3.9%, and Dec. 12, when it was 7.8%. A CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows that Covid cases have increased by 27% over the past Thanksgiving, to 122,000 per day on average. Still, cases are below their peak in September when the country reported an average of over 170,000 daily cases.

He stated, “You need to take care when entering large public spaces that are open to the public where there is a lot of people.” Under such circumstances, you need to wear a mask.

Fauci stated that Covid cases will continue to rise and people may need to make more restricted holiday plans. For now though, those who have been vaccinated or boosted can remain reasonably comfortable.

“The risk is not zero. He stated that this is true under all circumstances.

— CNBC’s Nate RattnerContributed to the report.