President Donald Trump said he believes some governors will be able to open up schools again after weeks of lockdowns to curb the spread of the CCP virus.
Flanked by two TV screens with the words "Opening Up America Again," Trump said during a news conference on Monday evening: “We want to get our country open, and testing is not going to be a problem at all.”
The president said he believes that some states will be "ready to open up their school systems" again, but "safety is paramount."
Dozens of states have shut down schools for the rest of the academic year to slow the spread of the virus.
“There will be briefings throughout other portions of the week. But these briefings are excellent. They're a way for the president to speak directly to the American people,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News on Monday.
The move to skip the daily briefings came after Trump faced criticism over remarks on April 23 when he asked a question about whether medical experts should study the use of disinfectants to treat the virus. Trump said he made the remarks sarcastically and accused news outlets of inaccurate reporting on his statements. He followed up by writing on Twitter that the briefings are a "waste of time."
According to Johns Hopkins University, the United States has more than 1 million confirmed cases of the CCP virus and more than 55,000 deaths.
