President Donald Trump has said the federal government will not be extending its COVID-19 social distancing guidelines once they expire Thursday.
To underscore his confidence, Mr. Trump said he plans to resume out-of-state travel after spending more than a month mostly cooped up in the White House, starting with a trip to Arizona next week.
He said he’s hoping to hold mass campaign rallies in the coming months with thousands of supporters, even though medical experts have said there is little hope of having a vaccine by then.
The White House has been trying to pivot to a new stage of the crisis, focused on efforts to reopen the nation’s economy state-by-state amid concerns that lifting restrictions too quickly and without sufficient testing and contact tracing will spur a resurgence.
We’re heartened that the worst of the pain and suffering is going to be behind us,” Mr. Trump said as he led a roundtable with executives from companies like Hilton and Toyota.
The President laid out a vision of a return to pre-coronavirus normalcy — with or without a vaccine — with packed restaurants and filled stadiums. That vision flies in the face of sober assessments from doctors who say the country will need to embrace a new normal” that includes extended social distancing and mask-wearing.
“I don’t want people to get used to this,” the U.S. President told reporters, adding, “I see the new normal being what it was three months ago.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said the drug reduced the time it takes patients to recover by 31% — 11 days on average versus 15 days for those just given usual care.
It’s highly significant,” said the usually cautious doctor, adding, “What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus.”
The White House and Trump in particular have been eager to give the country positive news as they work to move past the crisis and rebuild the economy, even as the country’s death tally continues to rise.
– PTI