VOA — WASHINGTON – The U.S. is moving quickly toward relaxing restrictions and opening commerce from the coronavirus shutdown, but a leading expert on the pandemic says the result will be more infections and deaths.
Governors in 47 of the 50 U.S. states have now eased commercial restrictions, allowing stores, restaurants and other businesses to reopen on a limited basis, while often requiring that social distancing of at least two meters be maintained. Mostly, however, the states have not met federal guidelines of a declining number of infections over a two-week period.
Protesters in many states have demanded the resumption of commerce so they could return to work and shop as they once did, although a Pew Research Center poll in the U.S. shows nearly two-thirds of Americans remain wary of resuming their pre-coronavirus lives.
Nearly 80,000 people have died in the U.S. from the pandemic, by far more than in any other country across the world. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington now forecasts more than 137,000 Americans will die by early August, an increase from its projection of 134,000 a week ago, which it attributed to the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions throughout the U.S.
IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray said, “Unless and until we see accelerated testing, contact tracing, isolating people who test positive, and widespread use of masks in public, there is a significant likelihood of new infections.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, facing a re-election contest against former Vice President Joe Biden on Nov. 3, is pushing the U.S. to reopen as quickly as possible while acknowledging that more Americans are likely to die as a result.
On Twitter, Trump claimed Monday, “Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere. Big progress being made!”