President Donald Trump unveiled new recommendations on Monday for the American people for the next 15 days, urging them to reduce their social contact by an extraordinary amount in order to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, as he acknowledged it may take well into the summer months to fully move past this health challenge.
"We have an invisible enemy," the President said from the White House Briefing Room. "We would much rather be ahead of the curve than behind it."
To tamp down on the highly contagious virus, which has been spread quickly in recent days in Europe and the United States, the President issued a series of recommendations to limit social contact.
"Avoid gathering in groups of more than ten people, avoid discretionary travel, and avoid eating and drinking in bars, restaurants and public food courts," Mr. Trump said.
"If everyone makes this change, or these critical changes, and sacrifices now, we will rally together as one nation," he added.
While these guidelines only are for the next 15 days, the President frankly acknowledged that it may take far longer for the United States to fully put this health threat to the side.
"People are talking about July, August, something like that," as he told reporters it's a question which he asks federal medical experts almost every day.
"We look forward to the day when we can get back to normal," the President added.
His statements on Monday were much different than in recent weeks, such as when he predicted the number of cases in the U.S. would soon fall dramatically, as various aides said the outbreak had been 'contained.'
"It's bad," the President said. "It's bad."
As for the economic outlook, lawmakers in Congress and officials at the White House were already talking about major plans to help various industries likely to be hit hard in coming months.
“We're going to back the airlines 100 percent,” the President told reporters. “It's not their fault.”
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