Published 06:31 IST, May 8th 2020
Trump admin ignoring CDC guidelines to reopen United States amid COVID-19: Reports
Trump and his White House administration are reported to have shelved the CDC's 17-page draft recommendation on reopening the country amid COVID-19 pandemic.
In a massive development, the Trump administration on Thursday, May 7 was reported to have shelved to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines on reopening the United States as the White House coronavirus taskforce, headed by vice-president Mike Pence, found it's advice 'very restrictive'.
According to reports, the CDC had prepared a 17-page draft recommendation on 'Reopening America', which included guidelines on how businesses, schools, and other organisations should reopen in the months ahead but the White House has sent it back. Media reports suggest that the White House task force wanted each state to make their own decisions based on data and response efforts and has put the onus on governors.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday, May 7 announced the reopening of the country again and promised to 'rebuild the greatest economy anywhere in the world'.
"This is a big moment in our history because we are opening up our country again. People are coming out, they are starting to go around and see what's happening, they have been short of shut down as the expression goes but we are opening up our country. People want our country to open up. Now, we want to do it in a safe way, we wanna make sure safety, you know all about social distancing and washing your hands and all of the things that we are supposed to do," Trump said in a video message released by the White House.
"And something I think that's important to say because I have been okay at this kind of thing - our economy, it's going to come back very very strong. You know we built the greatest economy anywhere in the world, nobody even close. Greater than China by far, greater than anybody, nobody was even close. I did it once, we are gonna do it again and it's gonna be just as strong by the time we have it done and it's gonna be a lot sooner than anybody would understand. We are gonna have an incredible next year and I look forward to it," Trump added in the one-minute-long video.
Coronavirus in the US
Trump on Thursday said he will be tested daily for coronavirus after a US Navy member who is part of his personal valet tested positive for the disease. According to reports, the US President along with vice president Mike Pence and certain high-level White House officials will now be tested for COVID-19 infection on a daily basis.
Trump has been facing a lot of criticism from health experts, who feel his administration is opening up the economy too soon as the country still remains the worst affected in the world with over 76,000 deaths and more than 1.2 million cases.
Trump has slammed his critics in media, who he feels are creating hysteria around the disease outbreak by spreading 'fake news'. Experts believe that Trump administration's hurry to reopen the economy is due to the upcoming presidential polls in November. According to reports, more than 3 million Americans have applied for unemployment claims so far, highest in US history.
(Image Credit: AP)
Updated 06:32 IST, May 8th 2020