President Trump Extends Social Distancing Guidelines until April 30

President Donald Trump organized a press conference at the White House where he announced, “The next two weeks are critical. Everybody should do their part and pay attention to social distance. This nightmare will come to an end one day. We decided to extend the precautions related to COVID-19 until April 30.”

“Today, we reached a historic milestone in our war against the coronavirus. Over one million Americans have been tested — more than any other country by far. [They are] not even close.”

Stating that his administration made serious progress on the coronavirus epidemic and they expected the death rate of the pandemic to reach its peak in 2 weeks, President Trump added that it is his expectation that the recovery process will have begun by June 1.

Over 2 Million People in the U.S. Could Die if Coronavirus Goes Unchecked

President Trump said, “It was expected that 2.2 million people could die if we hadn’t done anything, but if we come out of this with 100 to 200 thousand deaths, which is considerably less than that, then that will mean that we have done very well,” claiming that the government had carried out more tests than all of the other countries in the world and that that was the reason why the number of cases is so high.

Masks Question

Regarding the concerns about “the lack of medical equipment” in New York hospitals, Trump stated,

“How do these hospitals’ need for masks go from [10,000]–20,000 to 300,000 masks per week? There is something going on in New York hospitals. You should look into this situation as journalists. Where are these masks going? Are they going to elsewhere through the back door?”

Upon being reminded that he had earlier stated, “I want to restore the country to its previous state until Easter on April 12,” President Trump said, “I just said this as an aspiration.” Trump, who said that “there is nothing worse than declaring victory before winning it,” stated,

“The American youth is affected more than the European youth.”

Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator for the White House’s coronavirus task force, stated in a speech that they hope that projections that show the virus killing between 100,000 and 200,000 people in the U.S. are false and added, “Unfortunately, American youth is affected more than European youth. That’s the reason why every model may not be very correct.”

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stated that the U.S. could see millions of coronavirus cases and 100,000 or more deaths.

Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin highlighted that the $2.2 trillion package would support the economy and employees for ten weeks, and if additional time is required, the government will evaluate what may be needed.

The disease caused by the new coronavirus has killed at least 2,945 people in the United States as of March 30.

 Turk of America interviewed Prof.Howard Forman from Yale University regarding coronavirus threat.

How is the coronavirus outbreak going to end?

It is likely that we will see #covid19 as a new seasonal (or not) threat for the foreseeable future.The critical issue, at the moment, is whether it can be contained this year, sufficiently, to spare premature deaths.

In a global world, we are all in a position to advance public health and contain, or failing that, mitigate harm.My guess is that this will appear much worse rather than much better in a month;In 6 months, we will see that we turned the corner.

- Are U.S. and World Health Organization doing enough to prevent the spread of coronavirus?

The WHO has limited capacity to prevent spread but they certainly are using their expertise, voice, and resources very prudently. The United States has lagged many peer nations in standing up testing/detection capacity.

It seems that we are still 1 or 2 weeks away from being able to adequately test the entire population. But over the last few days,We are seeing evidence that capacity is rapidly advancing and that our health providers and systems are developing appropriate plans for quarantine, isolation, and compassionate treatment.

-How people to prepare for coronavirus?Do you recommend not to travel globally?

The greatest risk from global travel is quarantine.If you are heading “home,” that is not a great risk.But if you are going on a work-related trip, that may be a greater risk than you are willing to accept.For the foreseeable future,I think that we will see a dramatic reduction in global travel, as many countries will block entry or require 2 weeks of quarantine, upon arrival (which is tantamount to blocking travel, unless you are going home).

This virus is far from dangerous for the majority of young, healthy individuals. unfortunately, it is very dangerous to older and sicker individuals and it is in the public’s interest to prevent further spread precisely to protect the most vulnerable among us.

-When could coronavirus be ready?

i do not have any more info than from what i see reported:It sounds like 12 -18 months if all goes well.thanks for your time.

About Prof. Forman:

Professor Forman is a Professor of Diagnostic Radiology (and faculty director for Finance), Public Health (Health Policy), Economics and Management. Professor Forman directs the Health Care management program in the Yale School of Public Health and teaches healthcare economics in the Yale College Economics Department. He is the faculty founder and director of the MD/MBA program as well as the faculty director of the healthcare focus area in the School of Management’s MBA for Executives program. As a practicing emergency/trauma radiologist, he is actively involved in patient care and issues related to financial administration, healthcare compliance, and contracting. His research has been focused on improving imaging services delivery through better access to information. He has worked as a health policy fellow in the U.S. Senate, on Medicare legislation.