An MSNBC panel of experts were shocked by President Donald Trump's decision to reopen everything by Easter, which will be Sunday, April 12 this year. While most establishments are closed on the Christian holiday, Trump wants to see an economic explosion.
Dr. Anand Parekh, the former deputy secretary of the Health and Human Services Department explained that for every person with COVID-19, they can infect two to three people. Using social-distancing, he said they can bring it down to just one or fewer and stop the crisis before it kills too many people.
"Right now we are on the up-slope of the pandemic curve, so I would say, right now, I applaud all of those governors who put forward a stay-at-home order trying to limit non-essential movement and travel. I think that has to be the posture right now. This is a public health crisis. The economy will follow, once we can focus on the health aspects of this and we can turn the corner of the economy," said Dr. Parekh.
Dr. Irwin Redlener, an expert in disaster preparedness at Columbia University, was floored by Trump's decision to re-open everything in a matter of weeks.
"It is mind-bogglingly inappropriate to even think about that," he told MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle. "I think we have to understand that this is a really totally unprecedented crisis, really since 1918, we have not experienced anything like this. If we want to have any chance of slowing the spread and flattening the curve, that really means slowing the spread, and protecting ourselves and our health care workers. We have to keep this going as long as we need to keep it going. The economy will take care of itself, which is why we need a massive intervention and appropriation from the federal government to make sure that not only the larger economy or business gets supported, as it needs to be, but that every single family does not have to fear for the loss of income during whatever -- however long it takes to get this under control."
He went on to say he "was kind of dumbfounded that the president thinks that we can just, by fiat, say that the time for social separation is" over. Americans, he explained, will have to adapt and that means the president as well.
Watch the full conversation below:
