Trump Wants To End Coronavirus ‘Social Distancing’ Says It Causes Economic & Mental Health Problems

by Katherine HugginsMarch 27, 2020, 11:39 amDaily Digest, News, News Feed >

President Donald Trump appeared eager to end the social distancing recommendations in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“Our country wasn’t built to be shut down. This is not a country that was built for this,” Trump told reporters Monday evening, adding that “America will again and soon be open for business. Very soon. A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting.”

Current federal guidelines include avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people, working or attending school from home if possible, and avoiding restaurants and bars.

Trump has been clear that he does not approve of the social distancing guidelines, which have been upgraded to “stay at home” orders in several states including California, Illinois and New York.

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“WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!”

WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020

The 15 day period Trump referred to in the tweet is his administration’s “15 Days to Slow the Spread” initiative, which ends next Monday. It appears Trump is eager to reassess and end the social distancing guidelines, which he attributes to slowing the economy and causing mental health problems.

“People get tremendous anxiety and depression, and you have suicides over things like this, when you have terrible economies. You have death,” Trump said Monday, adding without evidence that “probably … definitely, it would be in far greater numbers than the numbers we“re talking about with regard to the virus.“

CORONAVIRUS FAQ: WIKI OF MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Health professionals maintain that social distancing, including maintaining at least six feet of space between people is key to slowing the spread of the virus.