I’ll reopen for business in weeks vows Trump as he scorns fear US will become virus hotspot
DONALD Trump declared yesterday that he wants to reopen the US for business within weeks, not months.
The President’s comments came as the World Health Organization warned that America could become the epicentre of the pandemic.
But Mr Trump also claimed that continued closures could lead to more deaths than those directly resulting from Covid-19 itself.
As coronavirus cases continue to climb in the US, the President said: “America will again and soon be open for business.”
Earlier, Mr Trump had vented his concerns on Twitter, using capital letters to get his points across.
He tweeted: “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.
“AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!”
The 15-day period he was referring to began on 16 March, when the White House announced new Centers for Disease Control guidelines encouraging all Americans to work from home where possible and limit gatherings of more than 10 people.
He also retweeted a number of missives giving the same message.
But he retweeted from a number of accounts – some with only a few hundred followers – who were calling for Americans to be allowed to return to work after the 15-day period ended.
Mr Trump’s former top economic adviser Gary Cohn sent a similar message.
He asked on Twitter: “Is it time to start discussing the need for a date when the economy can turn back on?”
“Policymakers have taken bold public health and economic actions to address the coronavirus, but businesses need clarity.
“Otherwise they will assume the worst and make decisions to survive.”
But in Geneva yesterday, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said there had been a “very large acceleration” in cases in the country.
She warned that it could become the new Covid-19 hotspot, adding: “We cannot say that is the case yet but it does have that potential.”
So far, there have been more than 46,000 cases in the US and 593 deaths, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.
Europe is currently at the centre of the crisis, with Italy reporting more deaths than any other country.
Mr Trump, who has been under fire for labelling Covid-19 the “Chinese virus”, said Asian Americans should not be blamed for the outbreak. He spoke out amid rising reports of verbal and physical attacks on the community amid the pandemic.
At a White House coronavirus task force news conference, the President declared: “It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States and all around the world.
“They’re amazing people and the spreading of the virus is not their fault in any way, shape or form.
“They’re working closely with us to get rid of it – we will prevail together.” Asked by a reporter why he had spoken out, Mr Trump said: “It seems that there could be a little bit of nasty language toward the Asian Americans in our country and I don’t like that at all.
“These are incredible people, they love our country and I’m not going to let it happen.”
In a separate development, major airlines in the US are now preparing themselves for a voluntary shutdown of essentially all passenger flights.
US government agencies are also thought to be considering ordering airlines to stop running flights.
The industry has suffered a huge hit from the coronavirus pandemic, with people around the world either choosing not to travel abroad, or being ordered not to by their respective governments.
About 80 million US residents in states including California, New York and Washington, are already subjected to mandatory stay-athome orders.
And aircraft firm Boeing said earlier that it was suspending operations at its plant near Seattle.