President Trump abandoned his earlier wish to open up the United States by Easter Sunday and instead extended the federal guidance on social distancing until April 30.
“Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won. That would be the greatest loss of all.”
“The better you do, the faster this whole nightmare will end. Therefore, we will be extending our guidelines to April 30, to slow the spread,” Trump said during a briefing at the White House Sunday.
The U.S. is now the world’s epicenter of the COVID-19 disease at more than 142,502 diagnosed coronavirus cases, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. There are at least 2,506 deaths in the country, registering a 1.7 percent mortality rate.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House health advisor and member of Trump COVID-19 response team, said based on current projections, the US could record 100,000 to 200,000 deaths and millions of infections.
“No state, no metro area, will be spared,” Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House task force, said as she urged states and cities to take mitigation steps similar to those in New York, where despite social distancing, school closures, and other measures, hospitals are at risk of being overwhelmed by the 60,000 cases.
During his speech, Trump reiterated that under the US government financial relief bill that he signed last Friday “the average worker who has lost his or her job will receive 100 percent of their salary for up to four full months.”
As of March 21, a record of 3.3 million Americans are unemployed. The third legislative package would give US$600 per week across-the-board increase in unemployment benefits for all workers claiming them.
Watch his press con at the Rose Garden:
LIVE: Press Briefing with Coronavirus Task Force https://t.co/io9HpU9q2o
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 29, 2020
