Trump Urged Schools to Reopen, Says He Disagrees With Fauci's Testimony
POTUS Donald Trump gave his thoughts on Wednesday after White House Infectious Disease Expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says reopening schools and businesses are currently inadvisable.
In an exclusive interview with FOX Business, President Trump said he disagreed with Fauci's warning. He claimed the country "can't keep going on like this" and called for the economy to reopen as quickly as possible.
"We want to do it safely," he said. "We have to get it open. I totally disagree with him about schools."
According to Trump, the country "will not be coming back" should school continue to remain closed. He claimed he was surprised by Fauci's answers when it came to schools. The decision to reopen, however, will ultimately fall to State Governors.
On Tuesday, the infectious disease specialist testified before lawmakers where he claimed vaccines would likely not be available to students before they begin their fall terms. He caused some alarm after he said an uncontrollable outbreak is possible. Fauci also warned the Senate panel of the dangers the COVID-19 disease presented to children.
Fauci suggested that schools should open carefully. He also advised that educationals institutions and establishments in some areas should remain closed in the fall. States that reopen before meeting the guidelines previously released by the Trump administration will risk seeing another wave of the deadly outbreak, he added.
His warning comes after health officials in New York were reportedly investigating more than a hundred cases where children were suffering from a rare form of the inflammatory syndrome called the pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome.
According to reports from medical experts in Europe and the United States, some children developed a severe illness with symptoms that included the inflammation of the skin, eyes, blood vessels, and the heart.
The syndrome can include fever, rash, reddish eyes, and sharp abdominal pain-symptoms usually associated with the Kawasaki disease. While both conditions can cause a surge of inflammation in the body, they affect the heart differently. Kawasaki disease produces aneurysms in the heart when it is left untreated. On the other hand, the pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome caused the heart's arteries and blood vessels to swell.
Many children suffering from the new syndrome reportedly went into a toxic shock due to very low blood pressure and the inability of the blood to circulate oxygen throughout the body.
In New York, 71 percent of the patients were admitted to intensive care units. A few required ventilators. Sixty percent of the children suffering from the new syndrome tested positive for COVID-19. Forty percent tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.
As of Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said they were investigating 82 total cases of the syndrome in New York City alone. Three have also died due to the inflammatory illness-including a 5-year-old boy who died at the Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital on Thursday, a 7-year-old boy from Westchester County, and an 18-year-old girl who lived on Long Island.
In New Jersey, similar cases of the new syndrome were recorded. Authorities said they found 18 cases of the syndrome in children as of Wednesday. Four of them were found positive for the coronavirus. Read the latest news from the Americas:
- Mexico to Reopen Manufacturing Sectors on Monday Amid Record COVID-19 Deaths
- What Are Safe Cities?
- Reasons Why Some People From Latin America Decide to Migrate to the US