On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that he would extend social distancing guidelines for another 30 days.
What We Know:
- The 15-day guidelines Trump announced two weeks ago were set to expire on Monday. The President had suggested over the past week that he was looking to relax them in some parts of the country. He even suggested Easter, April 12, as a potential date by which the country could return to normal.
- But on Sunday, he said he’d decided to extend the guidelines — which include suggested limits on large gatherings — to April 30.
- “The better you do, the faster this whole nightmare will end,” the President said Sunday at a White House news conference. He said he would be finalizing a new plan and strategy early this week and announcing the details on Tuesday.
- The announcement was an abrupt turnaround from a week ago when Trump suggested that social distancing was causing irreparable damage to the economy.
- Even after his health advisers warned him of consequences if Americans were allowed to return to large gatherings or crowded workplaces, Trump was set on allowing a return to normal life.
- On Sunday, Trump acknowledged that the spread of the virus had not slowed. He stated that the modeling shows the peak of deaths for the coronavirus will likely hit in two weeks. He stressed that he hopes the country will be on its way to recovery on June 1.
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“We can expect that by June 1st, we will be well on our way to recovery, we think by June 1st. A lot of great things will be happening,” he said. Trump reiterated his intent to return life to normal. “I want our life back again,” he said.
The White House’s social distancing guidance advises all Americans to avoid groups of more than 10 and urges older people to stay at home.
