During a White House Press briefing Monday, President Donald J. Trump said the country could get the Coronavirus outbreak under control by July or August at the earliest. Trump added that his team may force lockdowns of hot spots in the nation, but a nationwide lockdown is not being considered right now.
“If we do a really good job, we’ll not only hold the death down to a level that is much lower than the other way, had we not done a good job, but people are talking about July, August, something like that,” Trump said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease suggested later in the briefing that Americans could see a return toward normalcy before midsummer. The White House put out new guidelines with safety recommendations for Americans to follow including, limiting gatherings to 10 people or fewer. However, those “are a 15-day trial guideline,” Fauci said. “It isn’t that these guidelines are going to be in effect until July.”
The guidelines released by Trump also ask that the elderly, for whom the virus can be a life-threatening situation, to stay home and away from people.
“Even if you are young, or otherwise healthy, you are at risk and your activities can increase the risk for others,” the handout states. “It is critical that you do your part to stop the spread of the coronavirus.”
The coronavirus has turned America upside down in less than two months. The stock market has lost all the gains it made since Trump was elected in 2016. Layoffs have already started in key industries. Citing little advice from the federal government, Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Ned Lamont of Connecticut, and Phil Murphy of New Jersey announced that each of their states will close bars, restaurants, and gyms and limit gatherings to fewer than 50 people.
The briefing did have an effect on the stock market: it rebounded after another morning sell-off that saw the market’s third circuit breaker pause in less than a week. However, the Dow Jones National Average fell 3,000 points as the uncertainty of the virus has sent the market into a free fall.
There are now more than 4,200 cases of Coronavirus nationwide resulting in at least 74 deaths, with both numbers rising daily.