Former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci predicted Sunday that federal recommendations for masking may be given as COVID-19 cases continue to rise, but not federal mandates.

In an appearance on ABC's This Week, Fauci told Jon Karl he would be "extremely surprised" if a federal mask mandate were put in place.

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"I can see that if we get a significant uptick in cases that you may see the recommendation that masks be used under certain circumstances and indoor crowded settings, but I don't see there'd be certainly not federal mandates," he said.

"There may be local organizations that may require masks, but I think what we're gonna see mostly are, if the cases go up that there might be recommendations, not mandates. There's a big difference there," Fauci continued.

Karl also pressed the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director at the National Institutes of Health on the efficacy of masking in retrospect. Asked about new studies indicating that the practice of masking may not have been effective in containing the COVID-19 virus, Fauci claimed some studies are being misconstrued.

He pointed to a study by the Cochrane Library examining the "Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses." According to Fauci, the study has been "quoted a lot and causing a lot of confusion."

In the study, it was reported, "Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza‐like illness (ILI)/COVID-19 like illness compared to not wearing masks." But, following media coverage of the examination, the Cochrane Library said in a statement that results were ultimately inconclusive and that saying it "shows that 'masks don't work'" is "inaccurate and misleading."

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Fauci cited the examination, further claiming it is "absolutely not the case" that masks don't work.

"There are a number of studies that show that masks actually do work," he added.