Biden warns of 'second spike' in coronavirus infections if economy is reopened by Easter

Former Vice President Joe Biden warned on Wednesday that President Trump’s desire to reopen the U.S. for business by Easter would put the country at risk of a “second spike” of coronavirus infections that could prolong America's outbreak of the pandemic.

“Now he’s suggesting he wants to get the country opened — back open by Easter,” Biden told reporters in a virtual briefing. “Look, we all want to get back to normal as quickly as possible, but we have a lot to do to make that possible. We have to do it in a smart way — not on some arbitrary or symbolic timeline.”

“It would be a catastrophic thing to do for our people and for our economy if we sent people back to work just as we were beginning to see the impact of social distancing take hold only to unleash a second spike in infections,” he continued.

Biden’s remarks came a day after Trump said that he wants to have the U.S. economy restarted by Easter Sunday, April 12, an ambitious goal that flies in the face of warnings from public health experts who say the worst of the coronavirus’s effects on the U.S. are still to come.

“It’s such an important day for other reasons, but I’ll make it an important day for this, too,” Trump said from the White House Rose Garden. “I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.”



https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/489493-biden-warns-of-second-spike-in-coronavirus-infections-if-economy-is