Trump: Crash de adlier than virus
He wants US back to work by Easter – as toll keeps rising
DONALD Trump has claimed more Americans could die because of a recession than from coronavirus – and told citizens they could be back at work by Easter.
During an extraordinary interview last night, the US president brushed off concerns about spiralling death rates and instead focused on the economy, warning a crash could lead to ‘suicides by the thousands’.
His comments to Fox News came as the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the US could soon overtake Europe and become the epicentre of the outbreak, with the number of deaths in the country soaring by the day.
At least 600 people have died in the US so far and experts warned the total number of infections is significantly higher than the 48,000 recorded cases.
But last night, Mr Trump claimed a ‘massive recession’ would claim more lives than coronavirus and pressed for the US to return to business as usual. He said: ‘More people are going to die if we allow this [social distancing] to continue.’ The president had told Americans to begin social distancing on March 16, saying they should stay at home and only go to work if absolutely necessary. The 15 Days To Slow The Spread measures are due to expire on Monday, but to open up the US as usual would defy warnings that cutting social contact is one of the only ways to control the virus.
Last night, Mr Trump again likened coronavirus to ‘the flu’ despite scientists warning the virus is far more dangerous.
‘You’re going to lose a number of people to the flu but you are going to lose more people by putting the country into a recession,’ he said.
Announcing hopes to have the US economy functioning as normal by Easter, he said social-distancing measures could be ended and Americans could go ‘back to work and... practise good judgment’.
‘Our country has to get back to work; otherwise it will be very hard to start it up again,’ he told Fox News, adding: ‘I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.’
And last night, despite warnings that packed venues can be a breeding ground for the virus, Mr Trump said he hoped to see churches ‘full’ on Easter Sunday, which is a ‘very special day’. ‘I think Easter Sunday, you’ll have packed churches all over our country. I think it’ll be a beautiful time,’ he said.
But Tom Inglesby, head of the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security, warned this could see patients ‘get sick in extraordinary numbers all over the country, far beyond what the US healthcare system could bear’.
Yesterday, officials in New York, the US’s worst-hit city, warned of an explosion in infection rates, saying cases were doubling almost every three days. New York governor Andrew Cuomo said: ‘We haven’t flattened the curve and the curve is actually increasing.’
The city could need up to 140,000 hospital beds to cope with the crisis, he added.
Experts have predicted the US outbreak could lead to millions of deaths, but in recent days Mr Trump has repeated a controversial slogan that ‘the cure cannot be worse than the problem itself’. The president yesterday urged Congress to return citizens to work by finalising an economic rescue package for businesses, workers and the health system worth nearly €1.85trillion. But as he pondered easing coronavirus guidelines, states across America introduced their own measures, placing millions in lockdown.
At a press conference on Monday, Mr Trump appeared to make light of the crisis when he jokingly backed away and said ‘uh oh’ as a White House coronavirus co-ordinator mentioned having a minor fever.