Trump’s Warning to Americans: This is a Matter of Life and Death

The White House has warned of the danger of 100,000 to 240,000 American deaths from coronavirus infection. Donald Trump in his latest remarks about coronavirus spoke of two “very painful” weeks ahead for the American people.

Donald Trump has changed his approach to the coronavirus and the dangers posed by its spread in America. After previously trying to downplay the severity of the crisis caused by this disease, he now speaks with greater clarity and transparency about its consequences in response to criticism.

According to Reuters, the U.S. President spoke of two very “painful” weeks ahead for the American people and warned of the danger of hundreds of thousands of deaths from the disease in America.

Trump, in his speech on the evening of Tuesday, March 31 local time, described the spread of coronavirus in America as a “matter of life and death” for the people of this country and asked American citizens to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.

Beyond that, the U.S. President urged people of this country to stay home and avoid unnecessary travel on streets, in bars and restaurants.

Trump said “It is absolutely necessary for the American people to follow the recommendations given in the next 30 days. This is a matter of life and death.”

Possible Scale of Catastrophe

Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, presented statistics indicating that based on forecasts, the number of coronavirus victims in America could reach 100,000 to 240,000 people in the coming months.

The coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force also emphasized that if the programs predicted by the U.S. government are not implemented carefully, the possibility of far greater numbers of American deaths cannot be ruled out. Deborah Birx said that without implementing these programs, the number of coronavirus victims in America could even reach 2.2 million.

Trump, in his speech, referring to the economic consequences of the spread of coronavirus in America, said the next two weeks would be “very, very painful” days for the American people.

The U.S. President said that during this period, the number of coronavirus victims in America could increase dramatically. Donald Trump believes that the peak of coronavirus spread will come in mid-April.

Donald Trump said: “We want the American people to prepare themselves for these difficult days.” He expressed hope that after this difficult period, conditions will improve.

Assessments of Others

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had previously spoken of the possibility of 100,000 to 200,000 Americans dying from the spread of coronavirus.

Fauci also emphasized that if the programs predicted by the U.S. government are implemented and followed by the people, there is a possibility of reducing the number of victims from previous projections.

He stressed that U.S. officials will do everything in their power to reduce the number of victims.

Deborah Birx also said that there are no miracle tools at hand to fight coronavirus. Everything depends on people’s behavior. She said that the behavior and performance of each individual American citizen in the next 30 days could affect the fate of fighting the coronavirus in this country.

Mike Pence, the U.S. Vice President, also announced that policies set by the U.S. government have been effective. He asked the people not to lose hope and to abide by the government’s guidelines and recommendations.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, emphasized that he will remain mostly in the White House for the next 30 days. Additionally, there is talk of a possible ban on travel to Brazil by the White House.

Source: DW