Trump wants to reopen the US economy on Easter because he'd like 'packed churches all over our country' despite massive public health risk

Carlos Barria/Reuters

• President Donald Trump announced on Fox News on Tuesday that he's aiming to scale back social distancing guidelines to fight the coronavirus by Easter. 
• When asked by Fox News' Bill Hemmer why he chose April 12 as the day to reopen the economy, Trump said it would be great to have "packed churches all over our country" despite experts' warnings that the highly-infectious virus will still be spreading throughout the country. 
• On March 16, the federal government issued guidelines recommending that Americans avoid gatherings larger than 10 people to slow the spread of the virus. 
• On Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that experts believe New York's coronavirus outbreak will reach an apex in about 14 to 21 days.  He said the virus could spread in the state for up to nine months. 
• Trump repeatedly downplayed and made a host of unsubstantiated claims about the public health threat posed by the pandemic during his Tuesday town hall. 
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President Donald Trump announced on Fox News on Tuesday that he's aiming to scale back social distancing guidelines to fight the coronavirus by Easter because he wants to see "packed churches all over our country." 

When asked by Fox News' Bill Hemmer why he chose April 12 as the day to reopen the economy, Trump said Easter is a "very special day for me." 

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