Trump responded to the criticism of his response to the coronavirus threat on Sunday night,local time,lashing out on Twitter at what he called the"fake news"Democrats and media.
He tweeted:"If the Fake News Opposition Party is pushing,with all their might,the fact that President Trump'ignored early warnings about the threat,'then why did Media&Dems viciously criticise me when I instituted a Travel Ban on China? They said'early¬ necessary.'Corrupt Media!"
Fauci said it was possible there could be some easing of the restrictions"in some way,maybe next month"but warned it would be gradual and not be like flicking an on/off switch.
Rather than flipping a switch to reopen the entire country,Fauci said a gradual process will be required based on the status of the pandemic in various parts of the US and the availability of rapid,widespread testing. Once the number of people who are seriously ill sharply declines,officials can begin to"think about a gradual re-entry of some sort of normality,some rolling re-entry,"Fauci said.
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In some places,he said,that might occur as soon as May."We are hoping that,at the end of the month,we could look around and say,OK,is there any element here that we can safely and cautiously start pulling back on? If so,do it. If not,then just continue to hunker down,"Fauci said.
Whenever restrictions ease,Fauci said,"we know that there will be people who will be getting infected. I mean,that is just reality."
He also said he"can't guarantee"it will be safe for Americans to vote in person on the day of the election,November 3.
Social distancing guidelines imposed by President Donald Trump are set to expire April 30.
Trump is eager to restart the economy,which has stalled because most Americans are under orders to"stay at home"to help slow the virus'spread.
But governors will have a lot to say about when to ease restrictions in their states,and the leaders of Maryland and New Jersey indicated Sunday that they are not likely to do so until widespread testing is available.
"The question is how fast we can get enough tests up to speed in order to help us get to the point where we are able to do all of those things,"Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said on ABC'sThis Week. He said he has set no"artificial deadline".
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the risks of reopening too soon are dangerously high."And I fear,if we open up too early,and we have not sufficiently made that health recovery and cracked the back of this virus,that we could be pouring gasoline on the fire,even inadvertently,"Murphy told.
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Increased testing would allow authorities to identify,isolate and trace the contacts of people who are newly infected,Fauci said.
Trump continues to deny continuing problems with the coronavirus testing that's available,including shortages and long wait times for people to learn results. He's also resistant to the idea of more widespread testing,saying last week that"it's unnecessary"and that"vast areas of our country don't need this".
Other scientists have echoed Fauci's call for a gradual reopening,where restrictions can be ramped up or down.
Dr Christopher Murray,director of the University of Washington institute that created widely cited projections of virus-related deaths,said studies show that lifting restrictions at the end of this month would lead to a rebound in the number of infections. Because states don't really have the capability to deal with a big volume of new cases,he said,"by July or August we could be back in the same situation we are now".
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With AP