Trump officials were warned coronavirus ‘deaths will definitely be high’ as lockdown orders lifted, leaked audio reveals
TRUMP officials were told that coronavirus deaths "definitely will be high" if coronavirus lockdowns are lifted across the US.
In leaked audio obtained by , officials warned that if lockdowns are eased, cases would increase in a matter of weeks, and ventilators could run out in early June as more severely ill patients enter hospitals.
“The numbers of deaths definitely will be high,” Daniel Jernigan, director of the Centers for Disease Control’s influenza division, said at the start of a conference call on May 1.
Officials said if stay-at-home orders are lifted across the US, cases will begin to rise again.
Another official emphasized Jernigan's warning: “If, at the end of stay-at-home orders, you were to lift everything and go back to normal business, and not have any community mitigation, you would expect to see in the second week in May we begin to increase again in ventilator uses,” he said.
“Which means cases increase, and by early June, we surpass the number of ventilators we currently have.”
Several whistleblowers have claimed the has ignored warnings of coronavirus.
Vaccine expert Dr Rick Bright – who – claimed in a complaint filed Tuesday that .
The Director of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority said he was removed from his role in developing a coronavirus vaccine after he advised against hydroxychloroquine, the Malaria drug undergoing clinical trials as a treatment.
Hydroxychloroquine has been touted by President but officials said there is not enough research to show how effective it may be.
The Vaccine expert said when he made the advisory he was met with "indifference which then developed into hostility" by leaders at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Bright also
The vaccine expert said he "encountered resistance from HHS leadership, including Health and Human Services Secretary [Alex] Azar, who appeared intent on downplaying this catastrophic event."
He told journalists on Tuesday: "Time after time I was pressured to ignore or dismiss expert scientific recommendations and instead to award lucrative contracts based on political connections."
Bright's complaint follows after previous reports that President Donald Trump allegedly , including White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro's raising the alarm that COVID-19 could kill 2 million Americans.
Reports also claimed about the virus.
Trump has denied reports he ignored warnings on the virus, and pointed to action he took against COVID-19.
In late January, Trump announced a travel ban from China, where the virus originated.
Weeks later, he announced a travel ban from 26 European countries. He later expanded the ban to include travel from the UK and Ireland.
In mid-March, the President announced a national plan to slow the spread of COVID-19, as he announced federal guidelines. Those steps were then extended until the end of April.
The President has also noted that over recent months, amid the pandemic.
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