In another recent press conference regarding the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump addressed the possibility of “opening up” America after the White House’s 15-day social distancing plan is complete. According to CNN’s Daniella Diaz, Trump said on Monday that he hopes to reassess the guidelines regarding social distancing and self-isolation after the 15-day period ends. However, his comments are not in line with some members of the White House’s coronavirus task force, and, specifically, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has warned against “opening up” America too soon amidst this crisis, as the Washington Post reported.
“We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. We’re not going to let the cure be worse than the problem. At the end of the 15-day period, we’ll make a decision as to which way we want to go,” Trump said during the daily coronavirus briefing. The president added that he hopes the United States will be “open for business” soon, saying “Essentially, we’re referring to the timing of the opening, essentially, the opening of our country. Because we have it pretty well shut-down in order to get rid of this invisible enemy.”
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While Trump may have hopes to “open up” the country again soon, leading health officials on his team, such as Fauci, have shared that doing so is unlikely to happen soon. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of Trump’s coronavirus task force, and other health officials have reportedly told administration officials and leading Republican lawmakers that prematurely scaling back these social distancing and public safety measures would likely hamper efforts to control the virus. As of right now, the United States has over 40,000 reported cases of the coronavirus and the number is only expected to grow in the coming days and weeks.
Trump has repeatedly issued information, such as his recent hopes for these social distancing efforts, during press conferences despite the information not being in line with the health officials on his team. Recently, Fauci addressed the fact that he and the president have shared differences of opinion when it comes to this health crisis.
When asked by the journal Science how he deals with some of the falsehoods shared by the president during these press conferences, Fauci said, “I can’t jump in front of the microphone and push him down.”
“OK, he said it. Let’s try and get it corrected for the next time,” he added.
