President Donald Trump is apparently looking to return public life to normal, noting on Monday that he might encourage businesses to reopen and loosen federal guidelines for social distancing, despite various warnings from experts who are trying to stop the spread of the rampant coronavirus.
“America will again and soon be open for business — very soon,” Trump vowed at the daily White House news conference, according to the Washington Post. “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself.”
Trump acknowledged that he was openly going against public health consensus, adding, “If it were up to the doctors, they’d say let’s keep it shut down, let’s shut down the entire world . . . and let’s keep it shut for a couple of years. . . . We can’t do that.”
Health experts widely agree that the only immediate way to slow down the spread of the viral novel coronavirus without a vaccine is by encouraging social distancing among citizens and closing down non-essential public gathering spaces—schools, offices, bars, restaurants and more.
British researchers warned in a report last week that without drastic intervention, up to 2.2 million Americans could die as a result of the virus.
However, as the Post notes, Trump is facing economic pressure, as stock prices drop rapidly and a surge in unemployment is all but guaranteed.
Trump insisted that the country will be opened in a shorter time frame than many expected—and added that his administration will be working on new protocols to allow economies outside of the so-called “hotspots” to go about business as usual.
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