Where ten or more are gathered, President Trump wants to break up the party.
President Trump issued sobering new guidelines for the nation’s continued response to the coronavirus, COVID-19. The president said, “We’d much rather be ahead of the curve than behind it.”
He called for avoiding gatherings of more than ten people, avoiding discretionary travel, bars, restaurants, and food courts. He also urged people to “engage in home education.”
Trump said, “If everyone makes this change, or these critical changes and sacrifices now, we will rally together as one nation and we will defeat the virus. We’re going to have a big celebration, all together.”
NEW: Pres. Trump outlines new guidelines for Americans, "including the young and healthy," including engaging in home education, avoiding gatherings of more than 10, avoiding discretionary travel, and avoiding bars, restaurants and food courts. https://t.co/mETlYDCwLZ pic.twitter.com/q1Fm6WzOws
— ABC News (@ABC) March 16, 2020
The White House announced a 15-day plan to “slow the spread” of the coronavirus, which officials are asking every American to observe in order to arrest the disease’s progression.
Screenshot/White House
Some of the most bracing words were said by coronavirus specialist Dr. Deborah Birx, who said:
“Over the last months we’ve taken very bold action to stop the virus from coming to our shores. And because of that, we gained time to really get together and understand the progress across the globe of what has worked and what hasn’t worked. We now need to appeal to every single American, that they have their role in stopping the spread of this virus. We’ve talked about things before like washing your hands, but we really want to focus on if you are sick, no matter who you are, please stay home. If someone in your household is diagnosed with this virus, the entire household should quarantine in the house to prevent spread of the virus to others.
Dr. Birx reiterated that people who don’t even feel sick can spread the virus, for which there is no widely available vaccine or therapeutic, which is why people need to hunker down:
“The reason we’re taking these strong and bold steps is because we know there is virus spread before you show symptoms and because we know there’s a large group – we don’t know the precise percent yet – that actually is asymptomatic or has such a mild cases that they continue to spread the virus. If your children are sick, please keep them home.”
She said Millennials will be the population that will keep the virus from spreading, but the country needs their help. Keeping people separated is the only way the country has to keep the virus at bay. “The only thing we have right now is the ingenuity and compassion of the American people. We’re appealing to all Americans to take these steps. They will only work if every American takes this together to heart.”
As we reported earlier, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that they’ve developed a vaccine for COVID-19 – in 65 days, a “record.” It’s being tested in Seattle for efficacy.
Watch the news conference for yourself:
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