Trump says 'toughest' weeks ahead as coronavirus spreads
President Donald Trump warned Saturday that the country could possibly be headed into its "toughest" weeks yet as the coronavirus death toll mounts, but concurrently he expressed growing impatience with social distancing guidelines and said he's wanting to get the country reopened and its own stalled economy back on the right track.
"There will be a lot of death, unfortunately," Trump said in a somber commence to his daily briefing on the pandemic. "There will be death."
Joining Trump were Vice President Mike Pence, virus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's foremost infection disease expert. Each stood far apart from one another on the tiny stage.
Trump added a twist on his familiar push for a drug that hasn't been clearly displayed to work to stop the virus - he said he might start taking it as a preventative measure after consulting with his doctor, despite the fact that there's no evidence to show it works for that, either.
The president at first had suggested the united states could reopen by Easter but pulled back seeing projections of a staggering death toll regardless if restrictive measures stay in place. But just days after extending tough national guidelines through the end of April, staring down historic degrees of unemployment and monetary standstill, he was discussing reopening as quickly as possible, and speaking Saturday with leaders of professional sports leagues about filling arenas again.
"This country was not made to be closed," he said. "The cure can't be worse compared to the problem."
The number of folks infected in the U.S. has exceeded 300,000, with the death toll climbing past 8,100; more than 3,500 of these deaths are in the state of NY. For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as for example fever and cough that get rid of in 2-3 weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health issues, it could cause more serious illness, including pneumonia, and death.
Much of the united states is under orders to remain home, including professional sports leagues that were one of the primary to clamp down in the pandemic. Trump spoke by phone with top leaders including Roger Goodell of the National Football League and the NBA's Adam Silver, telling them he hoped to get persons back in seats immediately.
"I want fans back the arenas," he said. "Whenever we're ready, the moment we can."
The virus has decimated the sports world with the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League suspending their seasons indefinitely and Major League Baseball postponing the start of its season. The NCAA basketball tournament was also canceled; so were college spring sports.
A person with understanding of the call said some of the commissioners weren't quite as optimistic as Trump due to the concerns raised by public health officials but appreciated the president's desire to give persons hope and fans grounds to be optimistic. The person requested anonymity to discuss the private call.
California's Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has three NFL teams in his state, was asked if he thought the NFL season would start on amount of time in September. "I'm not anticipating that happening in this state," he said.
Hard-hit states were seeing cases rise. Trump suggested that some states were requesting more medical supplies than they really needed. He said the goal was to remain several days before critical medical needs in each state.
"The fears of the shortages have resulted in inflated requests," he said.
Louisiana officials have said New Orleans is on the right track to perform out of ventilators by in a few days. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose state reaches the epicenter of the national pandemic with over 113,700 confirmed cases by Saturday morning, has pleaded for ventilators for days. NY is poised to obtain additional than 1,100 ventilators from China and Oregon.
Health officials did offer some hope that social distance measures were working. Fauci said he saw the efforts doing his thing as he went out for a walk in Washington, D.C., and noticed persons waiting six feet apart for restaurant remove.
"As sobering and a difficult as that is, what we are doing is making a difference," Fauci said.
But even as Fauci urged Americans to be patient and let mitigation efforts work, Trump said: "Mitigation works. But again, we're not likely to destroy our country."
The previously booming economy had been among Trump's biggest talking points as he heads in to the 2020 presidential election, however the past few weeks have seen precipitous drops as the U.S. handles the fallout from the virus which has shuttered businesses, gutted airlines and forced persons into their homes.
The president also continued to tout hydroxychloroquine, a drug long used to take care of malaria, arthritis rheumatoid and lupus, after very small preliminary studies suggested it could assist in preventing the coronavirus from entering cells and possibly help patients clear the virus sooner. However the drug has major potential unwanted effects, especially for the heart, and large studies are underway to see if it's effective and safe for treating COVID-19.
Trump suggested he may consider whether he should start taking the drug, though he also said he'd ask his doctor first. Some studies are testing whether hydroxychloroquine can help prevent infections in health care workers, but none has suggested that others, including the president, should take it to prevent infection.
With Congress away, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressed for another aid package to be equipped for an April vote in a letter to accommodate Democrats.
"We should double down on the down-payment we manufactured in the CARES Act by passing a CARES 2 package," she wrote about the just-passed $2.2 trillion bill, pushing for another additional unemployment benefits, small business loans and direct payments to Americans.
