The US President has declared his coronavirus taskforce will continue “indefinitely” – just one day after he and Vice President Mike Pence said they would phase out the panel and replace it with a group based around reopening the country’s economy.
“I thought we could wind it down sooner,” Trump said. “But I had no idea how popular the task force is until, actually, yesterday when I started talking about winding it down. I get calls from very respected people saying, ‘I think it would be better to keep it going, it’s done such a good job.’”
In actual fact, some health experts had expressed alarm at the news – citing the rapidly climbing number of COVID-19 cases in the US, which have now reached 1.26 million with over 74,000 deaths recorded.
The Trump administration and many state governors have focused on the need to get the US economy going again.
Data this week suggested 20 million US workers are now out of a job – an effect that will continue to be felt even after the pandemic ends.
But given a study also released this week found 90% of people who had tested positive for coronavirus in San Francisco had been leaving their homes for work, it would seem they have a way to go.
