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President Donald Trump called on governors across the country to work to reopen schools that were closed due to the coronavirus, deliberately disagreeing with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s caution not to move too fast to send students back to class.
The president accused Fauci of wanting to “play all sides of the equation,” a comment that suggests he is tired of the nation’s leading infectious disease expert.
“I think they should open schools absolutely. I think they should, “Trump told reporters at the White House, echoing the comments he had made in a television interview.” Our country has to come back and it has to come back as soon as possible. “And I don’t think our country will come back. if schools are closed. “
Fauci had called for caution in testimony before a Senate committee on Tuesday, although he made it clear that he believes reopening decisions will likely differ from region to region.
“We don’t know everything about this virus and we had better be very careful, especially when it comes to children,” Fauci told the committee. At one point, he told members that “the idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate the re-entry of students in the fall period would be something that would be a bridge too far.”
Fauci later clarified that he was not implying that students should be prohibited from returning to class until a Covid-19 vaccine is developed. However, his comments were exploited by conservative commentators, as well as Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, who called the notion “somewhat ridiculous.”
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“For me, it is not an acceptable response,” Trump said of Fauci on Wednesday. He said that the coronavirus “has had very little impact on young people,” although there is growing concern about cases of a mysterious inflammatory syndrome in young people believed to be related to the virus.
Speaking of Fauci, Trump told Maria Bartiromo in an interview for Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” that “I totally disagree with him in schools.”
Trump and Fauci have publicly disagreed before, including over the effectiveness of certain drugs that have been proven to treat the virus. Trump has also complained to aides and confidants about Fauci’s positive media attention and his willingness to contradict the president. But Trump has also acknowledged that the pushback to withdraw the doctor would be fierce.
In his testimony, Fauci issued a forceful warning that cities and states could “turn back time” and see more deaths and economic damage if they lift orders to stay home too quickly, a message that contrasts with Trump’s push to reopen the nation while trying to mitigate the economic damage caused by the pandemic during an election year.
“There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control,” Fauci warned, as more than two dozen states have begun lifting their blockades.
Among them are Colorado and North Dakota, whose governors met with Trump on Wednesday.
In North Dakota, which has had fewer cases than many other states, Republican Governor Doug Burgum allowed most businesses to reopen on May 1 with precautions including limiting bars and restaurants to half their capacity and demanding that barbers and cosmetologists wear masks.
Burgum announced this week that schools may offer some summer programs beginning June 1 if local school officials approve and precautions are taken, such as limiting class sizes.
At the same time, cases and deaths have continued to rise. State health authorities reported two new deaths from Covid-19 on Tuesday, bringing their death toll to 38. The state also reported 53 new cases, totaling 1,571.
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The impact in Colorado has been much worse. The death toll there topped 1,000 this week, and more than 20,000 tested positive.
However, Democratic Governor Jared Polis this month began gradually relaxing the restrictions, while warning that there could be setbacks if the virus increases.
Polis had criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the early days of the pandemic for breaking into buying personal protective equipment and other supplies that Colorado, like many states, had been negotiating with private sellers. But recently he has taken a more diplomatic approach to working with the administration.
The White House has stepped up precautions in recent days to protect the president and senior administration officials from the virus after two people working on the compound tested positive. Because he had contact with one of those people, Vice President Mike Pence has kept his distance from Trump, speaking on the phone rather than in person.
“I haven’t seen Mike Pence and I miss him,” Trump said. “For a time we will keep separate because you don’t know what happens to this crazy and horrible disease.”
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