There is a possibility that the real US death toll could be higher than the official figure
US President Donald Trump has said that a sobering warning by his top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, about lifting the restrictions governing the pandemic too soon was not right. In his testimony to lawmakers, Donald Trump blamed Anthony Fauci of wanting “to play all sides of the equation.” The president went on to say that he was especially disappointed with Dr Fauci’s caution about schools resuming quickly. Covid-19 has infected nearly 1.4 million people in the US and killed 84,000, while destroying the economy.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Mr Trump made a case with Dr Fauci’s comments to a Senate hearing a day earlier about the risks to children of reopening and his assessment that a vaccine was unlikely before classes could begin this autumn. “Look, he wants to play all sides of the equation,” Mr Trump said of his top coronavirus expert’s concerns. I was surprised by his answer actually, because, you know, it’s just to me – it’s not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools. He went on to say that “the only thing that would be acceptable” would be to give older teachers and professors a few more weeks before they return. “Because this is a disease that attacks age, and it attacks health,but with the young children, I mean, and students, it’s really , just take a look at the statistics. It’s pretty amazing,” Mr Trump added.Trump’s recent statements come amid reports of some young children being severely affected by an inflammatory syndrome that could be linked to the virus.
The Republican president is keen to get Americans back to work and has showered praises on governors who are moving to do so while criticising others for not acting aggressively enough. Majority of the states in the US have begun a phased reopening approach. In some, like Texas and Georgia, public spaces and businesses have also been allowed to reopen.Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan said on Wednesday that he was lifting the state’s stay-at-home measure, and rather replacing it with a “safer-at-home” order.
The country is split over Mr Trump’s focus on protecting livelihoods, where critics accuse him of gambling with lives to serve his own political interests ahead of November’s re-election bid.
Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, the White House task force coronavirus expert, Dr. Fauci warned that relaxing stay-at-home rules too quickly could bring more “suffering and death”. The director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases emphasised the importance of not being “cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects” of the disease. He said “We just have to see on a step-by-step basis as we get into the period of time with the fall, about reopening the schools, exactly where we will be in the dynamics of the outbreak.”
The infectious disease chief also said there was a possibility that the real US death toll could be higher than the official figure.
