UNITED STATES (Agencies) – Dr. Anthony Fauci, Trump’s top health advisers said the coronavirus pandemic has a disturbing surge in cases. Nonetheless Trump is ignoring the new danger, instead using the worst domestic crisis in decades as a racist punchline.
So far, Mr. Trump has shown terrible political mismanagement of the situation and zero national strategy as the nation becomes desperate and exhausted with its struggle with the coronavirus.
At this point, half of US states are now seeing rising cases of the disease with the situation especially acute in Texas, Florida and Arizona, which embraced aggressive reopening programs. The European Union, which has been more successful than the US in suppressing Covid-19, warned it might bar visitors from America in what would be a major embarrassment for Trump. And the President persisted with his counter-logical argument that the US is only seeing more cases of the virus because it is doing more testing, leaving the implication that it would be better if rising cases, infections and ultimately deaths were simply ignored.
Trump spent the day in Arizona and held a rally in Phoenix, a city where mask wearing is mandatory in public. But he refused to cover his face, along with many supporters who attended his indoor event. And he delighted his fans by reciting a racist name for the virus referencing its origin in China as he called it the “Kung flu”.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, made what is becoming an increasingly rare public appearance in an official capacity in a hearing on Capitol Hill and warned — contrary to Trump’s assurances that the disease is “fading” and “dying out” — that “we’re now seeing a disturbing surge of infections.”
Fauci, has consistently expressed concern at the wave of aggressive economic openings championed by the President, warned that the next couple of weeks “are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges that we’re seeing in Florida, in Texas, in Arizona, and in other states. They’re not the only ones that are having a difficulty.”
Fauci has also mentioned that increasing cases of the virus, do not represent the “second wave medical experts have long feared. It is a broadening of the first wave that crashed onto coastal cities and urban areas, are beginning to frame up a daunting question for state and national political leaders: will the situation get so bad that a return to more restrictive and even stay at home measures will need to be considered?
Such a step — by mostly Republican state governors, some of whom have pledged there will be no return to lockdowns — would cause a huge confrontation with the President, who sees a rapid economic resurgence as vital to his hopes of winning a second term.
In states like Arizona, Texas and Florida are increasing warnings that if they remain on their current course, hospitals could collapse in the weeks and months to come.Texas recorded a new single day record of 5,489 new infections. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, a key Trump ally, warned Monday that daily positive cases, hospitalizations, and the positivity rate were all spiking and could require serious action.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield made declarations unlikely to please Trump, he said the virus had “brought this nation to its knees.”
Trump has responded to the latest warnings signs with denial, anger, concern for his own political prospects and by continuing to hold the kind of events — an indoor, rally style appearance– that ignore basic advice from his own government’s top experts and could expose attendees to infections, serious illness or death and help further transmit infections.
