Trump's Second National Emergency

The reality of the situation is that, in a few day, the United States will have a half-million total cases of COVID-19. Based on the mortality rate here, most will recover and most will presumably be immune to reinfection. However, with an estimated population of 328 million, this will leave well over 327 million who will not be immune and will be susceptible to infection.

Trump and Republicans want to get the economy restarted for several reasons: to get people back to work, to save what's left of both large and small businesses, and to help Trump's re-election. But mainly to help Trump's re-election, regardless of the safety of their plan.

To be very clear, there is no vaccine yet to protect from coronavirus. To be even more very clear, Trump's plan to reopen the economy will work only if the following are relentlessly and thoroughly followed:

• New infections are identified rapidly and confirmed by testing.
• Infected people are quarantined until they recover.
• All contacts of the infected are found, tested, and quarantined if necessary.

Based on Trump's total lack of anything resembling a competent national response to the early warnings he received to the potential of a pandemic, and the absolute incompetence of his response to the expanding emergency, there is absolutely no chance that Trump would be able to execute the necessary steps listed above to prevent a re-occurrence of what has already happened.

Trump removed our pandemic response team early in his administration and removed most of the experts capable of directing a capable response. He is currently considering defunding the World Health Organization in an attempt to blame them for his failures. He has learned nothing during this emergency and is incapable of being educated.

Trump should appoint Dr. Anthony Fauci as the pandemic czar, give him complete authority, and remove himself, Michael Pence, and his similarly incompetent son-in-law Jared Kushner from the effort. Otherwise, reopening the nation prematurely will be an unmitigated disaster.

John L. Ferri