There has been lots of speculation about the eyes being a source of COVID-19 infection. Some of this has come from a report by a virologist news reporter who claimed to have contracted the disease from his eyes on a plane flight. However, upon repeated testing the reporter never even had COVID-19!

On July 30, 2020 Dr. Fauci mentioned in a press conference the possibility of using eye shields to protect against COVID-19. Dr. Fauci said, "You have mucosa in the nose, mucosa in the mouth, but you also have mucosa in the eye," he continued. "Theoretically, you should protect all the mucosal surfaces. So, if you have goggles or an eye shield you should use it." He noted that goggles and eye or face shields are "not universally recommended" at this time, "but if you really want to be complete, you should probably use it if you can."