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Will the US reopen on May 1 despite increasing number of COVID-19 deaths?

Donald Trump
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A 1 May deadline to reopen the United States economy is being floated by senior administration officials ahead of an announcement on Tuesday by President Donald Trump of a new advisory council to advise him on that decision.

One of the main models being used to plot the course of the coronavirus outbreak in the country also shows that the number of cases and daily deaths may have peaked this past weekend, albeit at a very high level.

1 May, known as International Workers Day, and the date, while not a certainty, is what the administration is grappling with as they seek to get Americans back to work as soon as possible, but also as safely as possible as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration Dr Stephen Hahn explained.

“I think, obviously, everybody wants to get back to work. I’ve been hearing that from friends and colleagues around the country. Certainly, there are urgent economic reasons for that. However, I think the task force, the president, the vice president, all the doctors on the task force are really looking at this from a balanced approach. The primary issue here is the safety and the welfare of the American people. That has to come first. That has to be our first consideration.”

The Institute for Health, Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington provides one of the go-to projection models that shows a peak in daily deaths on 10 April, when the country lost more than 2 000 people.

While still above at least 1 500 deaths in the days since, the numbers have begun to come down as the curve begins to bend.

In the video below, Donald Trump has announced that he will set up a second coronavirus task force after US daily deaths pass 2 000. 

It also shows a peak for hospitalisations this past weekend while a third graph shows a total death toll of around 60 000, down from at least 100 000 weeks earlier.

Trump is expected to announce a new advisory council on reopening the economy this week.

“It’s something that … and we’ll be announcing names on Tuesday. Who’s on that? And that’ll play a role. But ultimately, I have to make that decision and then I’ll have to make a decision. Do we close a little area that’s a hotspot? I do say this, Jim. I want to get it open as soon as possible. This country was meant to be open and vibrant and great. Not where people are staying. I would love to open it. I’m not determined anything. The facts are going to determine what I do. But we do want to get the country open so important. So, I have a task force. I’ll have a council. It’s going to be announced on Tuesday.”

While the Federal Government will provide guidance, ultimately it will be up to the States and Municipalities to coordinate any reopening.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says they want to open as soon as possible.

“We want to reopen as soon as possible. The caveat is we need to be smart in the way we reopen. What does smart mean? It means a coordinated approach, a regional approach and a safe approach. Nobody wants to pick between a public health strategy and an economic strategy. And as governor of the state, I’m not going to pick one over the other.”

After a weekend that also forced most churches to mark Easter with online or televised services, each member of the Washington National Cathedral’s choir and orchestra performed from their homes this Sunday.

In the video below, the US job market nosedives amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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