The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has shown again this Friday his reluctance to order a confinement in the entire North American country due to the coronavirus pandemic, alluding to the fact that it is a decision that “leaves the governors” of each state .
“I leave it to the governors,” Trump said during the daily press conference of the coronavirus task force at the White House. “I like that from the point of view of the Government, and even from the point of view of our Constitution,” he has specified about his inclination to allow the states to make the decision for themselves.
However, according to the president, “about 90 percent” of Americans have received confinement orders. Specifically, up to 41 US states and the District of Columbia have ordered their citizens to remain in their homes. For its part, the Trump Administration has provided recommendations for the population to stay at home as long as possible and avoid meetings of more than 19 people.
“The states we are talking about are not in danger,” said the American leader, referring to the few states that have not yet issued regulations of this type.
The chief scientific officer in the fight against the coronavirus in the United States, Anthony Fauci, said Thursday that he believes that confinement should be ordered at the national level, contrary to what Trump has maintained since the pandemic broke out.
For his part, Trump has insisted several times this week that he will not order a confinement in the United States because, in his opinion, the states have “different” levels of affectation, although he asserted that he understood those who had executed confinement orders.
The president added that there must be “flexibility” between the states, which has to depend on how bad the situations are that are lived in each one, individually.
MISURI, THE LAST
Missouri Governor Mike Parson has been the last to order its citizens to stay home as a result of Covid-19, CNN reported.
The order, which takes effect on Monday and runs through April 24, states that citizens should avoid leaving their homes or places of residence unless necessary.
In this context, like most confinement orders, it does not prohibit people from going out to get “essential services”, such as food or fuel, but they must follow the recommendations for social distancing when they go abroad.
The state of Missouri has, until now, a total of 2,113 confirmed cases of Covid-19, while deaths amount to 19, according to data managed by its Department of Health.
ARKANSAS REFUSES
Instead, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has defended his decision not to order confinement in the territory, one of nine states that does not yet have such a directive in the United States. According to Hutchinson, “his approach” is “a good approach for Arkansas.”
“It is understandable that (Anthony Fauci) is looking for that as a solution, a national confinement order. What is important is that it has not happened. The CDC – I see their recommendations regularly – have not indicated that this is an appropriate step or necessary in the state. And we will continue to look at those recommendations, offered from a federal level. “
Arkansas has confirmed 687 coronavirus cases and 12 deaths so far, according to the Johns Hopkins University report.
QUARANTINE IN MAINE
On the other hand, the governor of Maine, Janet Mills, has issued this Friday an executive order by which it decrees a mandatory quarantine of 14 days for people who want to enter the state, regardless of the US state from which they come, to mitigate the Covid-19 expansion.
“To slow down the spread of this deadly virus and prevent our health system from overflowing, we all have to do our part,” Mills said in a statement released on the Maine Government website.
Meanwhile, Hawaii Governor David Ige has announced the activation of four units of the US National Guard to assist the state response in the fight against the coronavirus.
“With immediate effect, there will be more than 250 men and women in active state service,” explained Ige at a press conference gathered by CNN.
DISASTER STATEMENTS
On the other hand, Trump approved this Friday the declaration of the state of disaster in Arkansas, West Virginia, Indiana, New Hampshire and Oregon, with the aim of facilitating the assistance and necessary resources to these territories to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
With these, the US president has signed 40 disaster declarations in recent days, since he has declared it in other states and territories, such as Hawaii, North Dakota, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Rhode Island.
The United States is the country most affected by Covid-19 in terms of registered cases, more than 275,000, according to the latest balance from Johns Hopkins University. It is followed by Italy, whose number of infected people exceeds 119,000. Italy is also the country that also has the highest number of fatalities, almost 15,000.
Globally, the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has so far left more than 58,000 dead and the number of those affected exceeds one million.
