Trump: "Social Distancing Guidelines Will Disappear"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] On the 29th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would no longer extend the social distancing guidelines issued to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to local U.S. media, President Trump said during a meeting with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards at the White House Oval Office that "the current guidelines will disappear" as states begin to resume economic activities. These guidelines are set to expire in 30 days.

Earlier, as COVID-19 infections increased, President Trump announced social distancing guidelines on the 16th of last month, which included prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people and refraining from unnecessary travel. Originally planned for two weeks, these guidelines were extended once until the end of April on the 29th of last month.

Vice President Mike Pence, who was present, added, "The distancing guidelines announced 45 days ago have been incorporated into announcements for the gradual resumption of economic activities."

On the 16th, President Trump announced a three-phase plan to ease social distancing measures related to the resumption of economic activities. The specific implementation was left to the governors.

Regarding controversies surrounding China and the World Health Organization (WHO) over the concealment and response to COVID-19, President Trump said, "We are not happy about it," and criticized again, "(WHO) seems to be working for China. They should have known what was happening early on."

President Trump also mentioned that he is preparing measures to protect workers at meatpacking plants who are facing difficulties due to factory closures caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The economic restart is gaining momentum.

New York State has allowed non-essential surgeries in some counties, mainly in Upstate New York in the northern part of the state.

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York said that even after allowing such non-essential surgeries, the economy will be restarted only when at least 30% of hospital beds and 30% of intensive care unit (ICU) beds remain available.

Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey announced that state parks, county parks, and golf courses, which were temporarily closed due to COVID-19, will be allowed to reopen starting May 2.

However, he added that mandatory social distancing will continue.

Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins University reported that as of 7:32 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the same day, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. was 1,037,970. The death toll was recorded at 60,853.

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