Following the predicted number of deaths in America because of the coronavirus, the high poll numbers showing support for social distancing and the devastating scenes at New York hospitals, the White House formally reissues nationwide coronavirus guidelines on Tuesday as President Donald Trump is determined to extend the lockdown for another 30 days.
Trump unveils new guidelines
There are some Trump advisers who do not support the decision and have questioned the health advisers who convinced the President that distancing efforts were necessary for one more month. Trump faced intense pressure from business leaders and some conservative economists to reopen businesses because of the declining economy and the negative effect that it has on Wall Street.
Despite the debate between business advisers and health advisers, some aides recommended that the President extend the lockdown for only 15 days, but numerous health advisers countered with a statement that a month more was needed. Trump stated that it is better to ease the guidelines earlier than expected instead of having to extend them again.
The guidelines are expected to last until April 30
President Trump explained that his decision to extend the lockdown until April 30 is necessary to protect millions of lives. Trump and the coronavirus task force plan to delve into more detail on their models by using information and graphs during the daily press briefing at the White House on Tuesday.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the principal coordinator on the coronavirus task force, said that the team would come to the White House press briefing on Tuesday to back up their recommendations and the ultimate decision of the President with concrete data. She said that they will go through all of the graphs and all of the information that they took to the President for the decision.
Dr. Birx said that their data show that even if the country continues practicing social distancing measures, between 100,000 and 200,000 could still die due to coronavirus. The body count does not have universal support inside the White House and there remains a concern among some skeptics on Trump's team that Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Birx have put stock in models that could be wrong. Trump advisers argued that epidemiological models rely on assumptions and they can't always be 100% accurate.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020, marks the expiration of the initial 15-day period for the federal social distancing guidelines that Trump announced in early March. On March 29, he announced that the lockdown would be extended until the end of April but there will be some alterations.
Trump said stated on his briefing last Sunday "We will be finalizing these plans and providing a summary of our findings, supporting data and strategy to the American people, so we'll be having lots of meetings in between, but we'll be having a very important statement made on Tuesday, probably Tuesday evening, on all of the findings, all of the data, and the reasons we're doing things the way we're doing them."
The team also plans to execute strict steps to increase the testing and the surveillance of coronavirus cases in each state. Health experts have said that without mass testing for the virus, it is impossible to know who is infected and which states have more cases.
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