Trump "Wants Economy to Reopen by Easter"

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] President Donald Trump said he wants to restart the US economy by April 12. This reaffirmed his determination that the ongoing stay-at-home orders across various regions in the US due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) cannot be prolonged indefinitely.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

On the 24th (local time), President Trump appeared on Fox TV and said, "We will open this amazing country because we have to. I look forward to opening by Easter." This year's Easter falls on April 12.

President Trump indicated that although the 15-day social distancing guideline period he announced might be extended by a few days, he wants to end social distancing measures nationwide as soon as possible.

He added, "The sooner we return to normal, the better the situation will be," emphasizing, "The United States cannot maintain a situation where business and commerce are halted nationwide as they are now."

He also stated, "I do not want the solution to become more difficult than the problem itself. You can destroy this country this way."

This is an extension of what President Trump mentioned a day earlier on his Twitter and at the COVID-19 task force press conference.

In this regard, CNN reported in an article titled "White House officials scramble to find ways to reopen the economy without a health disaster" that aides are struggling to find options to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while reviving the economy.

Multiple phased plans based on age groups or geographic locations are reportedly on the table. Officials plan to continue advancing discussions this week ahead of the guideline deadline on the 30th, CNN reported.

However, doctors within the task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the US National Institutes of Health, are reportedly opposed to easing social distancing. This stance takes into account the increase of 5,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the US from the previous day, bringing the total to 48,900. The US ranks third in the world for the number of COVID-19 infections, following China and Italy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that the US could become a new epicenter of COVID-19 due to the rapid increase in cases.

At least 16 states in the US, including California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, have issued stay-at-home orders. CNN reported that if all these orders are enforced, 142 million Americans, or 43% of the population, will be affected by the stay-at-home directives.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.