Joe Biden Disagrees With Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Approach: ‘We Have To Take Care Of The Cure’
As President Donald Trump looks to end social distancing and restart the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden expressed his belief that getting the virus under control should be the United States’ priority instead.
As reported by Breitbart, the former Vice President made the comment during a Tuesday appearance on ABC’s The View, when co-host Sara Haines asked him if he felt the same as Trump about the priority of the economy in the crisis.
“We have to take care of the cure,” he said, referring to Trump’s claim that the cure for the coronavirus cannot be worse than the disease itself. “That will make the problem worse, no matter what. No matter what. We know what has to be done.”
Biden said that the U.S. must “flatten that curve,” referring to the number of coronavirus cases, which continues to grow, and the effectiveness social distancing can have in slowing such growth.
“So we should be focusing on getting all the help necessary in terms of testing, in terms of access to the gear that our first responders, our doctors, our nurses need in treating people.”
The 77-year-old politician claimed that there are regions in the middle and north of the country that have no intensive care units and pushed for a focus on ensuring such areas get extra hospital beds and equipment.
“We should be focusing on surging data, surging equipment, surging testing, surging all this information, and all this capability around the country. “
Biden’s proposed coronavirus approach is a marked shift from Trump’s, which appears to be focusing on getting the economy running again. As reported by CNN, Trump has expressed his desire to re-open the economy, even as the publication notes that COVID-19 is approaching a possible peak.
“Our country was not built to be shut down,” Trump said Monday morning, adding that he is planning to open up the United States for business in the near future.
According to Worldometers, there are 49,594 coronavirus cases in the U.S. as of Tuesday afternoon, with 622 deaths. For comparison, China, where the virus originated, has 81,171 cases and 3,277 deaths as of the same time. However, China has successfully flattened its curve, while the United States’ trajectory appears on track to continue increasing.
As The Inquisitr reported, Trump’s former homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, warned that ending social distancing — which he sees as key to flattening the COVID-19 curve — could lead to thousands of deaths. Despite such warnings, Trump and some of his allies appear to be aware of such a trade-off and willing to take the risk.