Story at a glance
- The Trump administration’s current social distancing guidelines expire April 30.
- Trump’s comments come after health officials this week acknowledged the country would likely still be dealing with the deadly outbreak into winter.
- Meanwhile, Georgia state officials moved ahead Friday with plans to allow some nonessential businesses to reopen.
President Trump said Thursday his administration may extend social distancing guidelines past spring and into early summer or later amid the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
“We may, and we may go beyond that,” Trump said during Thursday’s White House coronavirus task force meeting when asked if federal guidance would need to be pushed until the start of summer.
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“We’re going to have to see where it is,” Trump said, adding “I think people are going to know just out of common sense. At some point, we won’t have to do that. But until we feel safe, we’re going to be extending.”
The Trump administration issued guidance to Americans set to expire April 30, recommending they avoid in-person gatherings of more than 10 people, cancel nonessential travel and avoid restaurants and bars. On April 16, the White House released a new list of recommendations on how state leaders can start reopening their economies.
Georgia state officials moved ahead Friday with plans to allow some nonessential businesses to reopen, even as coronavirus deaths increased statewide. The state has allowed businesses such as gyms, barber shops, hair salons, tattoo parlors and bowling alleys to open their doors. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday 16 states have released formal reopening plans to rollback coronavirus restrictions. Other states have extended their own stay-at-home restrictions past April 30.
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Trump’s comments come after health officials this week acknowledged the country would likely still be grappling with the deadly outbreak into winter.
“There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) head Robert Redfield told the Washington Post Tuesday.
The U.S. is leading the world in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. recorded nearly 870,000 cases and nearly 50,000 deaths.
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