President Trump teased the idea of being less restrictive in the U.S.'s response to the Wuhan coronavirus after the 15-day period to flatten the curve has ended.
“We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself,” Trump tweeted in all caps. “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
Later Monday morning Trump then retweeted a response to his post suggesting the at-risk populations continue to be protected while everyone else gets back to work.
Correct. 15 days, then we keep the high risk groups protected as necessary and the rest of us go back to work.
— Steph (@steph93065) March 23, 2020
The message comes as 10 states have more than 500 cases of the virus, with New York becoming the epicenter in the U.S. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday the state has 16,887 confirmed cases, which is approximately 5 percent of the cases of COVID-19 worldwide.
Health isn’t the only concern, of course. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he believes the U.S. unemployment rate will hit 30 percent in the near future as the world’s battle against coronavirus continues. If true, the U.S. unemployment rate would be worse than it was during the Great Depression.
I don't know what the right amount of quarantine time is. But a liquidation of the US economy also has health consequences, both long and short. We can't pretend there are no trade-offs. https://t.co/Tr4j0UHzqs
— James Pethokoukis (@JimPethokoukis) March 23, 2020
On Sunday, the Senate failed to move forward with 'Phase 3' of the trillion-dollar coronavirus stimulus bill.
Their solution: radically escalated unemployment insurance for 4-6 months. And then what? Where do all those unemployed go back to work, exactly, when the companies no longer exist?
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 23, 2020
This post has been updated with additional information.