Donald Trump opposes perpetual lockdown; says cure cannot be worse than problem itself

Vehemently opposing those advocating perpetual lockdowns to address the coronavirus pandemic, US President Donald Trump has said that cure cannot be worse than the problem itself.

Speaking on Monday at his first rally since contracting coronavirus, Trump said that lockdowns have done tremendous damage to the states.

“We gotta remember I said it right at the beginning. The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself. Can’t. The cure cannot be worse,” Trump told thousands of his supporters in the battleground state of Florida.

Trump was briefly forced to pause his re-election campaign after he tested positive for COVID-19 on October 1 and was admitted to a military hospital for three nights and four days. White House doctors have now cleared him for holding election rallies.

Trump said that the World Health Organisation just came out a little while ago and they admitted that he was right. “The lockdowns are doing tremendous damage to these Democrat-run states where they're locked down, sealed up,” he asserted.

Expected to intensify his campaign in the coming days, Trump, 74, told his supporters that he is feeling younger than before he was infected with COVID-19.

“I don't have to be locked up in my basement and I wouldn't allow that to happen anyway. I wouldn't allow it to happen. When you're the president you can't lock yourself in a basement and say I'm not gonna bother with the world. You gotta get out. And it's risky. It's risky. But you gotta get out,” Trump said.

He urged his fellow Americans to come out and continue with their work.

“The cure cannot be worse. But if you don't feel good about it if you wanna stay, stay. Relax. Stay. But if you want to get out there get out,” he said.

“One thing with me--the nice part--I went through it. Now they say I'm immune. I feel so powerful. I'm walking through that audience…I'll walk in there. I'll kiss everyone in that audience,” he said amidst applause from the audience.

“I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and the--everybody--I'll just give you a big fat kiss,” he added.

Trump said he felt good recovering from COVID-19.

“It does give you a good feeling when you can beat something and now they say you're immune--I don't know for how long. Some people say for life. Some people say for four months. I mean every time I think about it every time I hear they would get shorter and shorter and shorter cause they want it to be as bad as possible,” he said.

But it is a great feeling, said the president as he thanked Walter Reed Medical Hospital and Johns Hopkins whose physicians treated him.

“These guys are incredible. You know we're 90 per cent better now than we were six, seven months ago in terms of a cure for people that get really sick. 90 per cent. It's incredible what's happened. And with children, it's 99.9 per cent. You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay,” he said.

“They have a little better immune system. We just learned that. Better than you have, right? Better than we all have. But we love our children. But we have to get our schools open, we have to get our businesses going back. We have to get our country rolling and it is rolling. You're gonna see that when the numbers come out,” he added.

Trump said that his policies have saved millions of lives.

“When this first came out if we didn't do a good job they predicted 2.2 million people would die. We're 210,000. We should be at one,” he said.

“It's China's fault. They allowed this to happen. They allowed it to escape China. But 2.2 million people would have died. Just remember that. Just remember that. A fact they don't like talking about. I have such respect for the people of this country the way they've handled it's been an incredible love fest together. That's really what it's been,” he said. 

(Image: AP)