Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, says President Donald Trump’s plans to reopen the economy by Easter are ill-advised.
You’ve got to be realistic,” he told CNN host Chris Cuomo during an appearance on “Prime Time.”
“And you’ve got to understand that you don’t make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline. So you’ve got to respond, in what you see happen. And if you keep seeing this acceleration, it doesn’t matter what you say. One week, two weeks, three weeks — you’ve got to go with what the situation on the ground is.”
Regarding slowing the spread of the virus, Fauci said, “You may see in a relatively shorter period of time, when you’re seeing the inkling of the flattening and coming down. But you know, you can’t make an arbitrary decision until you see what you’re dealing with. You need the data.”
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You can watch footage of Fauci’s remarks below.
https://twitter.com/CuomoPrimeTime/status/1242983847836487682
The president has continued to argue that the economy should reopen by Easter, contrary to the warnings from economists and health experts alike who say the novel coronavirus pandemic will cost the United States even more human lives.
“Our country wasn’t built to be shut down,†Trump said during a briefing at the White House this week. “America will, again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon. A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. Lot sooner. We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself.â€
“It’s such an important day for other reasons, but I’ll make it an important day for this, too,†he added from the White House Rose Garden. “I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.â€
Last night, the president accused media outlets of attempting to sully his reelection chances.
“The LameStream Media is the dominant force in trying to get me to keep our Country closed as long as possible in the hope that it will be detrimental to my election success,†the president tweeted.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
