Despite President Donald Trump’s call to put the economy back to work by Easter, one Johns Hopkins physician says there may have to be “variability” in when states and cities restart their economies.
“The best time to start opening up businesses is when we see that the numbers in an area start to stabilize,” said Dr. Juan Dumois, an infectious diseases physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. “What really may be a practical thing to consider is different recommendations in different areas of the country, depending upon the disease activity in those areas.”
That could mean variability at the state level or local level, as the virus peaks at different times in its steady spread across the country.
In what has become the conventional wisdom of the medical community, Dumois reiterated that a combination of social distancing and testing is still the best option for halting the disease.
“The virus is spreading. It will continue to spread, but if we can slow it, we can try to manage the cases that come into the hospitals so that the hospitals are not overloaded,” he said.
Absent these measures, the doctor said hospitals will inevitably become overwhelmed.
“Eventually, some patients won’t be able to get the care they need,” he added.
But when or if this will happen in a given area is hard to determine as official projections change.
“We’re seeing changes by the week, and even by the day,” Dumois said.
Ivanka Trump began testifying Wednesday in the civil fraud trial that is publicly probing the Trump family business, making an appearance she tried to prevent.
Wednesday night is the third Republican presidential primary debate with five candidates set to take the stage. Columnist and political analyst Jonathan Harris spoke with Cheddar News to explain what to expect from a reduced field of candidates, what topics are on tap to discuss and which candidates have the momentum.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is accusing the GOP of playing politics with IRS funding with a new round of budget cuts in a recent aid bill that would slash $14 billion from the agency in order to fund aid to Israel.
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves won reelection on Tuesday, while Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to an abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. In Virginia, Democrats swept legislative elections in a blow to GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
