After pushing for the easing of restrictions and wanting the restart plan to be put in motion, US President Donald Trump has now conceded that more Americans will die in reopening the country's economy.
He underlined his insistence on a dwindling coronavirus threat by refusing to wear a mask, even as he toured a mask-making factory.
When he was asked by ABC News if lives will be lost in the desire to ease stay at home orders and other social distancing restrictions, Trump said?¡°It¡¯s possible there will be some because you won¡¯t be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is. But at the same time, we¡¯re going to practice social distancing. We¡¯re going to be washing hands."
Trump has been adamant that the US economy has to be up and running soon, even as many governors across the country have criticised the move saying that it will only go on to make things worse.?
He said that some people will be affected by decisions to reopen the economy in some states, as governors grapple with historic levels of unemployment.
¡°Will some people be affected? Yes. Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open and we have to get it open soon,¡± Trump said.
US deaths from the novel coronavirus surged past 70,000 on Tuesday, according to reports, as a key forecasting model nearly doubled its previous estimate for fatalities.
Nearly 1.2 million people in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 - more than the combined total of the next largest outbreaks in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
The US coronavirus outbreak is deadlier than any flu season since 1967 when about 100,000 Americans died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.?