The U.S. is now more than a week into an
unprecedented 15-day effort to encourage
all Americans to drastically scale back their
public activities. The guidelines, issued by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are
voluntary, but many state and local leaders have
issued mandatory restrictions in line with, or
even tighter than, those issued by the CDC.
On Monday, the U.S. saw its biggest jump yet
in the death toll from the virus, with more
than 650 American deaths now attributed
to COVID-19. Trump’s comments come after
dire warnings by officials in hard-hit areas.
New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his state’s
hospital system will soon hit a breaking point
— resulting in avoidable deaths — even with
the restrictions already in place.
“I gave it two weeks,” Trump said during the
town hall from the Rose Garden. He argued
that tens of thousands of Americans die each
year from the seasonal flu and in automobile
accidents and “we don’t turn the country off.”
When the 15-day period ends next Monday, he
said, “We’ll assess at that time and we’ll give it
some more time if we need a little more time,
but we need to open this country up.” He added,
“We have to go back to work, much sooner than
people thought.”
Trump’s Easter target was not immediately
embraced by Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator
for the White House task force, who indicated
any move would have to be guided by data
still being collected. She suggested that public
health professionals could recommend a general
easing, while pushing for local restrictions to
remain in the hardest-hit areas.