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evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was spread by aerosols and by asymptomatic infected persons...which became known a couple of months later, after which Dr. Fauci led the charge to act accordingly with Masking, Social Distancing, etc....btw, just 2 days after the U.S. received the pathogen's genetic makeup, Fauci got Moderna's mRNA-1273 vaccine started on the regulatory path for human testing.

...as regards the Seasonal Flu vs. COVID-19 in those early days, here's an excerpt from your article...
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Fauci says part of the problem with the novel coronavirus, which the World Health Organization officially named COVID-19 this past week, is that there are unknown issues with the virus. The illness is different from other known coronaviruses that generally cause mild illnesses, like the common cold.

COVID-19 can have far more severe symptoms, including fever and shortness of breath. It's more closely related to SARS. While it's believed to be spread by person-to-person contact, it's not known exactly how contagious it is. There were reports in Germany that someone was sickened with the virus, and got it from someone who showed no symptoms.

Likewise, while most coronaviruses are considered "winter viruses" whose spread decreases with warmer weather, it's not known if that will be the case with this virus.

"The Flu is a Real and Present Issue"
Fauci says something the public should be paying more attention to, however, is the flu.

"The flu is a real and present issue that we are going through right now," Fauci said. "We're so used to every year having the seasonal flu that we sort of take it for granted. It's part of life. And yet each year it kills from [30,000] to 79, 80,000 on our worst year."

According to the CDC, there have been at 26 million reported flu cases this season, along with 250,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths. Flu activity remains high in most states across the country.
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If there's one person you should place your trust in, it's Dr. Anthony Fauci...and the Infectious Disease Society of America agrees. Take your political blinders off and seek information from those who devote their careers to keeping you and your loved ones as healthy as possible.