Published 12:50 IST, May 14th 2020
Donald Trump says Fauci's warning about lifting restrictions too soon 'unacceptable'
US President Donald Trump not only accused Anthony Fauci of wanting to “play all sides of equation” but also called his warnings on schools "not acceptable".
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US President Donald Trump not only accused country’s top infectious disease expert of wanting to “play all sides of the equation” but also called his warnings on reopening the US too soon as “not acceptable”. Trump has even said “I was surprised” by the answer when the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci cautioned against reopening the country too soon and alerted that it could result in a heightened number of coronavirus cases. According to Fauci, the schools should be reopened cautiously and in some places, they shall still remain closed. However, this advice left the US President particularly dissatisfied and said at the televised conference on May 13 that “people want it open”.
Trump said, "I was surprised by his answer, actually. It's just...to me it's not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools."
“We're opening our country. People want it open. The schools are going to be open,” he added.
Amid the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus, the relationship between both Fauci and Trump has been scrutinised. From rumours to infectious disease expert’s suspension to clashes in opinions, there have been many instances when both appeared at odds with the response to the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Several allies of Trump have reportedly criticised Fauci and called him an unelected bureaucrat.
However, Democrat’s Presidential candidate for White House in 2020, Joe Biden has showcased his support to the director of NIH and has said, “I would trust the guy who's one of our nation's top public health experts” over the US President who had suggested injecting disinfectant to cure COVID-19 disease.
Coronavirus in US
The United States been most severely virus-hit country in the world with 1,430,348 confirmed cases of COVID-19 disease and 85,197. Even though the coronavirus was first discovered in China’s Wuhan, the number of infections in the mainland till May 14 remain at 82,929 and at least 4,633 casualties. The global health crisis has also fueled a political spat between both the countries over the handling of the outbreak and spreading misinformation.
12:50 IST, May 14th 2020