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Some of the top economic advisers to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, emphasized on Sunday the importance of states opening more businesses and offices even when the pandemic is heading to the White House complex, forcing three members of the working group of coronavirus from administration to quarantine.
The president and governors who will decide when to reopen their states face competitive pressure. Increased economic activity and travel are likely to lead to more people signing up for Covid-19.
Strict restrictions on which companies can operate are causing millions of people to join the ranks of the unemployed.
Decisions on how quickly to reopen come with general elections less than six months away, and Trump and other incumbents face the prospect of seeking another term amid a public health and economic crisis.
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“If we do this carefully, working with the governors, I don’t think there is any considerable risk,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said of “Fox News Sunday. “
“In fact, I think there is a considerable risk of not reopening. You’re talking about what would be permanent economic harm to the American public. “
Another 3.2 million US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total in the past seven weeks to 33.5 million as states restrict activities to curb the spread of the virus.
AP
After vacillating between defeating Covid-19 and protecting the economy, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has made a decision.
Mnuchin said unemployment figures “are likely to get worse before they get better,” but he expected the economic numbers to improve in the second half of 2020 and that next year will be a “great year.”
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced last week that his state’s bars and restaurants may reopen in full in two weeks, May 21, with cookout allowed a few days earlier.
He said he wanted the number of coronavirus cases to be reduced, but the state needs to return “very carefully.”
The White House sent several of its top financial advisers to America’s top Sunday talk shows. The appearances came immediately after three key advisers, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, took further preventive action after contacting someone who tested positive for Covid-19.
ALEX BRANDON / AP
President Donald Trump listens as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin talks about the coronavirus at the White House in Washington. Some of Trump’s top economic advisers stressed on Sunday the importance of states opening more businesses and offices.
Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and has become known nationally for his simple and direct explanations to the public about coronavirus and Covid-19, the disease it causes.
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn are also in quarantine.
Fauci’s institute said it has tested negative for Covid-19 and will continue to do so regularly. He added that it is considered “relatively low risk” based on the degree of its exposure.
Redfield will be “teleworking for the next two weeks” after it was determined that he had “low risk exposure” to a person at the White House, the CDC said in a statement Saturday night. The statement said he was feeling well and has no symptoms.
Just hours before, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that Hahn had contacted someone who tested positive and was quarantined for the next two weeks. It also tested negative for the virus.
AP
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
All three were slated to testify before a Senate panel during a Tuesday hearing focused on how to safely return people to work and school.
It was announced that Fauci will join all administration witnesses to testify via video conference “with great caution for our witnesses, senators, and staff.”
Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person working at the White House complex to test positive for the virus last week.
White House officials had confirmed Thursday that a member of the military serving as one of Trump’s valets had tested positive for Covid-19 a day earlier.
White House adviser Kevin Hassett noted that the vice president’s press secretary tested negative one day and positive the next day.
“And this is a very, very scary virus. You know, people will go back to work and worry about things, “Hassett said. “And it’s going to take a while for things to get back to normal, absolutely.”
At the same time, he said about $ 9 trillion has been injected into the United States economy through actions taken by Congress, the White House and the Federal Reserve.
