Coronavirus Latest: Despite Trump's Optimism, There's Still A Long Road To Reopening
Touting the federal government's response to the novel coronavirus, President Trump took something of a victory lap on Thursday, laying out guidelines for a phased "reopening" of the country.
Trump boasted during a coronavirus task force briefing that there would be states that could reopen "immediately" — as soon as Friday and within a "few days." After avoiding date targets for most of the briefing, Trump declared at one point, "We're beating the date. I set a date of May 1."
The guidelines suggest states with a 14-day "downward trajectory" of cases can start to reopen by relaxing their levels of social distancing. But the guidance doesn't address other crucial targets that experts say states need to consider, such as wide-spread testing.
The truth is despitemake up just 11% of the U.S. population.
