PRESIDENT Donald Trump has extended the social distancing guidelines in the United States until April 30th.
The president announced the news on Sunday, whilst speaking at a press briefing at The White House.
Donald Trump has extended the social distancing guidelines in the United States until April 30th.
Trump also warned that the highest peak of the coronavirus is “likely to hit in two weeks”.
“Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won,” he said, announcing the extension that will see non-essential workers stay at home for the next month.
Just five days ago, the president announced that he wanted the country to be open again by Easter.
Speaking about opening the country up again, Trump said: “I would love to have it opened by Easter.”
When asked if it would be possible to reopen the country on Easter Sunday, April 12, the president replied: “I think it’s possible. Why isn’t it?”
When asked by a reporter if aiming to open the country again by Easter was a mistake, the president said no.
Later, Trump added: “Easter is a very special day for me, and I see it sort of in that timeline that I’m thinking about.
“Wouldn’t it be great to have all of the churches full? …Easter Sunday and you’ll have packed churches all over our country.”
However, today Trump announced that he is extending the stop the spread guidelines in the country until April 30th.
When asked by a reporter if aiming to open the country again by Easter was a mistake, the president said no.
Just five days ago, the president announced that he wanted the country to be open again by Easter
“That was aspirational, we had an aspiration of Easter,” Trump said.
He also warned that the highest point of the coronavirus death toll will come in two weeks – which will be Easter Sunday.
On Sunday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also announced that the state will stay locked down for another two weeks.
Speaking at his daily press conference, Cuomo said said he is extending his “New York State on PAUSE” executive order until April 15 as the number of virus deaths jumped more than 200 in a day and the death toll for the state nears 1,000.
“This is not going to get better soon,” Cuomo said. “I know we feel under attack… this is New York. We are going to make it through this.”
“We specialize in stamina and strength in instability, and that is just what we’re doing now.”
Cuomo’s initial order, which requires all non-essential employees to work from home and also bans non-essential gatherings, was first imposed on March 22.
“We will re-evaluate every two weeks,” Cuomo said.
The news comes as coronavirus deaths in the US hit 2,133, with at least 123,617 confirmed cases.
