Donald Trump says he wants to reopen US economy with a ‘big bang’ after coronavirus pandemic
President Donald Trump has said he wants to open America’s coronavirus-ravaged economy with a “big bang” and claimed the country was “ahead of schedule” in its fight against the disease.
Mr Trump told reporters he thought the lockdown end-date would not be “far behind” Easter, but acknowledged the daily death toll from the disease needed to be on a downward slope before restrictions could be eased.
It came as officials reported more than 1,900 fatalities across the US over a 24-hour period for the second day running, with the total number of deaths set to reach 15,000 today.
More than 430,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the country — the highest tally in the world.
Speaking at the White House last night, Mr Trump said he was heartened by signs that the death toll among Americans may fall far short of last week’s projections indicating between 100,000 and 240,000 could die.
He said the economy could be reopened in phases but “it would be nice to open with a big bang,” adding: “We have to be on the down side of the slope”.
Vice President Mike Pence injected a more sombre tone into the briefing, saying: “We are in the midst of a week of heartache,” but adding that “we are beginning to see glimmers of hope”.
