Surgeon general expects social distancing guidelines to continue after April 30
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams says he expects to continue recommending Americans follow social distancing guidelines into May.
Adams appeared Wednesday on Today after President Trump recently extended the federal government's social distancing guidelines to April 30. Trump had previously floated the idea of the country being "opened up" by Easter on April 12.
But Savannah Guthrie probed Adams about the likelihood of the guidelines needing to be extended again, asking him if it's remotely possible that the White House would fully pull back and say Americans no longer need to social distance after 30 days. This is indeed not likely, Adams suggested.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"In my opinion, I think that in 30 days, we will still be telling the country in general that you need to practice these measures," Adams said. "But in 30 days, some places may not need to have a shelter-in-place anymore. So again, we'll start to ease this in 30 days, I think, in some places, but in some places, we'll be ramping it up. We'll follow the data."
Upon announcing the extension of the federal social distancing guidelines, Trump predicted that "by June 1st, we will be well on our way to recovery," and "a lot of great things will be happening."
Adams also said in the interview that because "everyone is on a different place on their curve," some states are "going to need to continue social distancing" after 30 days, while others "may be able to relax some of their recommendations earlier."
The surgeon general additionally addressed the fact that numerous states have not issued stay-at-home orders including Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) recently saying Trump "has not recommended" that he do so. But Adams on Today described the federal social distancing guidelines as "a national stay-at-home order." Brendan Morrow
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Marine Le Pen's fake jobs trial
The Explainer The far-right French leader could face a fine, jail time, and a five-year ban from public office if found guilty of embezzlement
By Abby Wilson Published
-
How to earn extra cash for Christmas
The Explainer The holiday season can be expensive but there are ways to bolster your festive finances
By Marc Shoffman, The Week UK Published
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
Speed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published