The president suggested he wanted to move soon, but he also promised to listen to public health officials cautioning against relaxing restrictions prematurely.
“We’re not doing anything until we know this country is going to be healthy,” Mr. Trump said. “We don’t want to go back and start doing it over again.” But he added that the nation’s current paralysis was not sustainable. “You know what? Staying at home leads to death also, ”he said. “It’s very traumatic for the country.”
The number of deaths worldwide from the coronavirus topped , on Friday, as a surge of cases in Moscow pushed the Russian capital’s health care system to its limit. Lockdowns were extended across much of the globe heading into the Easter weekend, as countries desperately struggled to slow infections. The strain of people out of work and dependent on assistance was starting to show. A distribution of food turned into a bloody melee in a poor area of Nairobi, Kenya. In the United States, the death toll has surpassed that of Spain, with only Italy reporting more. In Washington, lawmakers and administration officials made some progress in breaking a stalemate over a $ billion federal infusion to replenish a fast-depleting loan program for distressed small businesses. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said that the Trump administration had agreed to bipartisan negotiations early next week.
But the central question dominating the conversation in Washington, New York and elsewhere was how long would it be until the country could begin to get back to normal. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, the hardest hit state, said any easing of restrictions would require widespread testing to cover millions of workers first, while Mr. Trump said that “you don’t need full testing” but instead concentrated screening in the most affected areas.
- days after lifting stay-at-home restrictions that would be more severe than if the United States had never issued such orders in the first place and instead relied simply on school closures, sending people home to telework and directing the public to socially distance.
Christopher Murray, the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington whose forecasts have been relied on by the White House, added a warning against lifting restrictions too soon. “It’s enough to say that if we were to stop at the national level May 1, we’re seeing a return to almost where we are now sometime in July,” he said on CNN.
But his public health advisers took a more cautious approach. “As encouraging as they are, we have not reached the peak,” Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the White House pandemic coordinator, said of the latest figures. She noted that without universal testing, experts were seeing only the most serious cases. “Is this the tip of the iceberg, or is this half the iceberg or three-quarters of the iceberg that we’ve seen to date?” she said.
Five administration officials said it was highly unlikely that Mr. Trump would extend the guidelines beyond April , adding that he would be more likely to find a way to announce some lifting of quarantine measures, even if it might not be a full flip-the-lightswitch reopening of the country. . Trump has been having conversations, both formally and informally, in recent weeks with business leaders like Michael Corbat, the chief executive of Citigroup, and Brian Moynihan, the chief executive of Bank of America, about how to support the economy and when it might be able to reopen. Many of those discussions have been facilitated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has fielded calls from executives like Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone, looking for a road map to when a semblance of normalcy could return, although some people close to the discussions said that Mr. Schwarzman and Steven Roth, a real estate investor close to Mr. Trump, have not been aggressive as others.
Some business leaders have been particularly frustrated that the government is not being realistic about the economic consequences of the fight against the coronavirus. They note that there are many health risks and that not all of them warrant shutting down the economy.
Jacob Wintersteen, a real estate developer in Texas and the finance chairman for the Houston area for the state’s Republican Party, said businesses should have the right to operate if they see fit despite the risks. “People in front of my face are watching their businesses be destroyed by our choice of the cure,” he said. The president’s economic advisers have been laying the groundwork for reopening the economy. Larry Kudlow, the chairman of the National Economic Council, said this week on the Fox Business Network that he could envision returning to work on a rolling basis within the next four to eight weeks. Mr. Mnuchin said on CNBC that it could happen as soon as May 1. However, people close to Mr. Mnuchin have suggested that a more gradual timeline for reopening the economy could begin in May based on the availability of coronavirus testing and regional case numbers. Mr. Kushner and Peter Navarro, the president’s trade adviser, likewise have talked about opening in stages as quickly as possible, fearing that banks will start having real problems if the lockdown continues through May. Economists say that lifting restrictions, particularly on nonessential businesses, will restore a limited amount of activity to an economy that is currently in a free fall.
- recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms
. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
(What should I do if I feel sick?)
If there’s space, the sick family member should stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom. If masks are available, both the sick person and the caregiver should wear them when the caregiver enters the room. Make sure not to share any dishes or other household items and to regularly clean surfaces like counters, doorknobs, toilets and tables. Don’t forget to wash your hands frequently.
(Should I stock up on groceries?)
Should I pull my money from the markets?
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