Please, do some research before listening to anything Donald Trump says about the coronavirus.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday night, Trump spoke very freely about the new coronavirus (which results in the disease that's been officially named COVID-19). Let's just say not everything the president said coincided with the advice of public officials.
In a clip shared to Twitter by Matt Rogers, Chief Strategist at Politidope, Trump can be heard saying "A lot of people will have this and it gets better very rapidly, they don't even see a doctor, they don't even call a doctor. You never hear about those people, so you can't put them down in the category of the overall population in terms of this coronaflu, or virus. So you just can't do that."
Trump goes on to say, "If we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better by sitting around and even going to work, some of them go to work, but they get better."
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In addition to advising people to properly and frequently wash their hands and refrain from touching their faces, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also urged anyone who feels ill or exhibits coronavirus symptoms to stay home from work in hopes of preventing potentially deadly germs from spreading.
With more than 95,000 confirmed coronavirus cases around the world and more than 3,200 coronavirus-related deaths, Trump's comments — which seemed to downplay the severity of the global situation — were criticized to the extent that he felt the need to issue a tweet.
"I NEVER said people that are feeling sick should go to work," Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. While it's true he didn't outright say that people with the coronavirus shouldgo to work, he essentially implied that if you're exhibiting symptoms of the disease you don't have to take them seriously because there's a chance you'll heal on your own.
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Trump also said that some people with symptoms go to work and "get better" but did not condemn that choice or echo the concerns of healthcare professionals and public officials. His comments come a day after he said he hadn't touched his face in weeks, which was clearly a lie.
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As coronavirus cases continue to spread some companies are advising employees to work from home, and several have cancelled non-essential business travel, including pulling out of conferences and events such as SXSW.
As president of the United States, it's clear to understand why Trump might want to downplay the disease updates and attempt to keep people from panicking, but he also has a responsibility to provide accurate information and listen to officials who have a deeper knowledge of the situation.
