The Trump administration has been very keen on reopening, much to the advice of the health experts as the number of cases and deaths from the pandemic continue to increase. Nevertheless, President Donald Trump dismissed the warning given by top health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci about reopening places like schools too quickly.
Speaking to the press, Trump dismissed and found unacceptable Dr. Fauci’s warning about reopening schools too quickly in the midst of the coronavirus. The President also expressed how he was reportedly surprised hearing the health expert’s answers following his hearing at the Senate Committee on Health, Labor, and Pensions.
Dr. Fauci, who also served as a top member of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force, explained that it is also unlikely that a vaccine could be ready by the fall, which is when the new school year starts in the United States. Dr. Fauci described the possibility of a tried and tested coronavirus vaccine by the fall as “a bridge too far” and added that it is a “wait and see” type of situation. “We just have to see on a step-by-step basis as we get into the period of time with the fall about reopening the schools, exactly where we will be in the dynamics of the outbreak,” said Dr. Fauci.
The health expert also warned that reopening states too would only rack up more numbers on both cases and deaths from the pandemic. Dr. Fauci expressed his concern that rushing to reopen states would only bring more “suffering and death” rather than progress in flattening the curve of transmission. His remarks follow the news of state governors beginning to relax the social distancing guidelines they placed on their respective states. Trump has since praised the governors who have pushed to reopen businesses that were shut down during the lockdown.
Meanwhile, with the news of the coronavirus being present within the White House as both Trump’s personal valet and vice president Mike Pence’s press secretary having tested positive, comes a concern of the possibility that Trump tests positive for coronavirus as well. Even though Trump and Pence have tested negative following those announcements, Bloomberg reports that it would result in either a temporary setback or a Constitutional crisis.
Should this happen, experts have said that it is important that who will assume the duties of the president and/or the vice president be known.