As COVID-19 Death Toll Reaches New Highs, Trump Warms Up Economy

Published in Morocco World News on April 17, 2020:

Rabat - On April 16 the US hit a new record for COVID-19 fatalities, with 4,591 people dying from the virus in 24 hours as President Donald Trump unveiled guidelines for reopening the economy.

The US now has confirmed more than 667,000 coronavirus cases. Early on April 17, fatality figures from Johns Hopkins University recorded a total death toll of 33,288 people.  

Despite Thursday’s significant death toll, Trump announced his “Opening Up America Again” plan to reopen the US economy, and Wall Street stocks rose the next day.

“America wants to be open and Americans want to be open,” he said during the announcement, insisting that “a national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution.”

He went on to warn how the lockdown could lead to a rise in alcohol abuse, heart disease, and other “physical and mental” problems.    

“Some states will open sooner than others,” Trump continued. “We are not all opening up at once, but one careful step at a time.” 

In Trump’s plan, the United States will be opened in three phases to gradually ease the nationwide lockdowns. At first, only particular states will reopen while others remain closed.   

Trump has told state governors that they would handle the process themselves, with some aid from the federal government.

These plans have received a mixed response from both Democrats and Republicans.  

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, referred to the plan as “vague and inconsistent.” 

The document “did nothing to make up for the president’s failure to listen to the scientists and produce and distribute national rapid testing,” Pelosi argued, shortly after Trump’s press briefing on Thursday, April 16. 

Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic rival in the upcoming presidential elections, voiced his criticism of the “Opening Up America Again” plan after its reveal.  

“Well, I wouldn’t call it a plan. I think what he’s done, he’s kind of punted. He’s decided that he’s not---he doesn’t have the right to make the call for the country,” said Biden, during a CNN appearance on April 16.  

“As we prepare to reopen America, we have to remember what this crisis has taught us: that the administration’s failure to plan, to prepare, to honestly assess and communicate the threat to the nation led to catastrophic results,” Biden wrote in an op-ed article in the New York Times, on April 12. “We cannot repeat those mistakes.”      

Despite the criticism his plan has received, Trump has continued to be outspoken on his goal to reopen the United States, calling for the liberation of specific states on Twitter.   

Before Trump released the details of “Opening Up America Again,” the president made his intentions to reopen the economy clear, regardless of widespread doubt and fear. 

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer expressed her apprehension towards the idea on April 13, saying, “We’ve got to make sure we avoid that second wave at all costs.” 

“We could lose all the progress we made in one week if we do it wrong,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on April 14. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Trump administration’s top infectious disease expert, said the US does not have the testing and tracing procedures needed to reopen the country. 

“We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we’re not there yet,” Fauci said in an interview with the Associated Press on April 14. 

Ordinary Americans have also expressed concern over the easing of lockdown regulations.

Brandy Robinson, a New York City social worker, said COVID-19 deaths would have to decrease significantly for her to go outside.

“It’s very hard to come out of the house at all,” she said to the New York Times on April 14. “I just try to keep faith and hope that this will end soon.”