Trump wants to ease restrictions as health experts warn the worst is coming

Trump tweeted late Sunday night that extending measures to protect Americans from the spread of the coronavirus outbreak would be ‘worse than the problem itself.’

By Emily Singer - March 23, 2020

Donald Trump appears to be growing impatient with the social distancing measures put in place to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, suggesting he may even lift some of the restrictions.

“WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF,” Trump tweeted late Sunday night in all capital letters. “AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!”

Social distancing measures have included banning gatherings and shutting down workplaces and schools.

Trump’s tweet came as public health experts warned the virus will only spread more — especially since many people have ignored calls for social distancing.

“I want America to understand — this week, it’s going to get bad,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams said in the “Today” show Monday morning.

Adams said many people were out and about over the weekend, ignoring the strict orders to stay home, and that it’s making the virus spread more.

“This is how the spread is occurring,” Adams said. “So we really, really need everyone to stay at home. I think that there are a lot of people who are doing the right things, but I think that, unfortunately, we’re finding out a lot of people think this can’t happen to them.”

Aside from Trump’s all-caps tweet late Sunday night, he also retweeted Twitter users calling for the social distancing measures to be lifted.

The tweets shared on Trump’s account point to the White House’s coronavirus plan — titles “15 days to slow the spread” — and said that after that time period people should be able to go back to work.

Trump tweet — [/media-credit] A look at Trump’s retweets Monday morning, suggesting the social distancing measures be lifted.

However, public health experts — including Adams — do not believe that 15 days of social distancing is enough.

And the New York Times reported that the White House wants to find ways to allow people to go back to work, believing that the administration has taken too much advice from health officials such as Dr. Anthony Fauci — a top infectious diseases expert working on the coronavirus task force — that have led to the economic collapse the country is witnessing.

Bloomberg News reported that Trump was already talking about ending the social distancing measures just three days after putting them in place.

Yet experts say that allowing people to go back to their daily lives too soon could lead to an even bigger spread of the pandemic.

“Sadly, the numbers now suggest the U.S. is poised to take the lead in #coronavirus cases,” Trump’s former homeland security adviser Thomas Bossert tweeted Monday morning. “It’s reasonable to plan for the US to top the list of countries with the most cases in approximately 1 week. This does NOT make social intervention futile. It makes it imperative!”

And major Trump defenders on Capitol Hill are imploring him to leave them in place.

“President Trump’s best decision was stopping travel from China early on,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tweeted. “I hope we will not undercut that decision by suggesting we back off aggressive containment policies within the United States.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

Emily Singer