Coronavirus crisis could last well into the summer — July or August, Trump says
Americans should avoid gathering in groups of 10 or more, stop discretionary travel and stay out of restaurants and bars for at least the next 15 days, President Donald Trump said Monday, citing new guidelines issued by federal health officials.
The guidelines suggest closing schools for at least the next two weeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“If everyone makes this change, or these critical changes and sacrifices now, we will rally together as one nation and we will defeat the virus, and we’re going to have a big celebration all together,” Trump said during a daily press briefing from the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
The president said Americans are likely to be dealing with the virus until July or August — and possibly longer. He stressed that the outbreak is a “fast-moving situation” and told younger and healthier people they have a “critical role” to play in stopping the spread and transmission of the virus.
“While they may experience mild symptoms, they can easily spread this virus,” Trump said, “putting countless others in harm’s way.
Deborah Birx, the task force coordinator, advised Americans, “If you are sick, no matter who you are, please stay home.”
If one person in a household is infected, Birx said, everyone in that household needs to self-quarantine.
Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said some people may call the new guidelines an overreaction.
“I’ll say it over and over again: When you’re dealing with an emerging infectious diseases outbreak, you are always behind where you think you are, if you think that today reflects where you really are,” he said.
More than 181,000 cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 7,100 deaths as of March 16, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 4,000 confirmed cases with at least 73 deaths.
The World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 virus a global pandemic. In the United States, Trump has declared a national emergency and a ban on travel from China, Iran and all of Europe.
Trump said on Monday that he has considered closing America’s northern and southern borders. A restriction on domestic travel is something he and his task force “talk about every day,” although he continues to hope it won’t come to that.
Officials in several states and cities, including Washington state, Massachusetts and New York City, are shutting down bars and restaurants to help stop the spread of the coronavirus as the number of infected people continues to climb.
California officials directed bars and nightclubs to close but stopped short of issuing an order to close pubs ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.
Ohio’s governor recommended canceling in-person voting in the state’s Tuesday election and extending absentee voting until June. Florida, Arizona and Illinois also have presidential primaries on Tuesday.
At the briefing, Trump said postponing is “unnecessary” because there is “lots of room” in many voting locations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed nearly 3,000 points down. Trump said he doesn’t see a recession coming, despite the poor performance of the stock market.
“Well it may be. We’re not thinking in terms of recession, we’re thinking in terms of the virus,” he said. “I think there is a tremendous pent-up demand, both in terms of the stock market and in terms of the economy.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Coronavirus crisis could last well into the summer — July or August, Trump says."
