Donald Trump opposes 'blanket shutdown' amid COVID-19 crisis, proposes scientific approach

While the death toll due to coronavirus outbreak in the US has surpassed 152,000 and total infections are nearing five million, US President Donald Trump has said that “blanket shutdown” is “not a viable long-term strategy” to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. As the contagion is tightening its grip in the country, Trump has opposed the shutting down of the economy to achieve a “temporary reduction” in COVID-19 cases because according to him that has already been done in the beginning. 

At the press briefing on July 30, Donald Trump proposed the “path forward” scientifically would be to protect the more vulnerable individuals in the society while also paving the way for the ones with lower risk to gradually return to work and to school with suitable precautions. Now, with months into the coronavirus contagion, Trump has reiterated that ‘permanent shutdown’ would no longer be the answer. The main purpose of a nationwide shutdown, according to the US President is to flatten the curve of novel coronavirus and the development of treatments and therapies. This, Trump said has been achieved by the US government. 

Donald Trump said, “a blanket shutdown to achieve a temporary reduction in cases is certainly not a viable long-term strategy for any country. People are starting to understand the disease now.”

“The primary purpose of a shutdown was to flatten the curve, ensure sufficient hospital capacity, and develop effective treatments and therapies to reduce mortality. And we’ve done that,” he added. 

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Donald Trump on mail-in voting

Meanwhile, with plunging approval ratings before the November elections, Trump had called for ‘delaying’ the 2020 presidential elections in the United States citing his concerns with mail-in voting.  According to him, this year’s elections, where he competes with Democratic nominee Joe Biden, will be ‘most inaccurate and fraudulent’ one in the history if proceeded with postal voting. 

This can further cause the world’s one of the biggest superpower ‘great embarrassment’. Therefore, Donald Trump has suggested that the November elections can be delayed when the Americans can vote ‘securely’ and ‘safely’. However, he then backtracked from his comments and said ‘I don’t want delay’. Trump said, “I want to have the election. But I also don't want to have to wait for three months and then find out that the ballots are all missing and the election doesn't mean anything".

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