President Donald Trump hinted in a tweet late Sunday night that his administration is considering reassessing its coronavirus regulations restricting people going to work.
"We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself," Trump wrote in all capital letters. “At the end of the 15 day period, we will make a decision as to which way we want to go!”
Vice President Mike Pence also signaled a change in tone when he said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is going to issue guidance permitting those exposed to the coronavirus to go back to work earlier by wearing a mask for a certain period of time, Axios reported.
The remarks by Trump and Pence appear to indicate that the administration is searching for ways in which to get people back to work so that the economy can be stabilized as unemployment shoots up and the stock market tumbles.
Axios pointed out that such a policy would almost certainly result in strong disagreement with the health experts, who are expected to push for a longer period of social distancing and quarantining across the nation at the end of the 15-day period, which began on March 16.
Trump’s tweet came as the Senate’s emergency stimulus bill to help alleviate the impact of the pandemic on the economy failed to move forward, Fox News reported.
Major sectors of the economy – including hotels, restaurants, airlines, and retailers - already have suffered major losses.
However, both Republicans and Democrats have sounded an optimistic note that a compromise will be worked out in order to pass the Senate bill.