White House: CDC coronavirus reopening guidelines being edited
Trump estimates 95,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths
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President Trump estimated on Friday that there will be 95,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., a lower projection than what the White House coronavirus task force had previously offered.
"One person is not acceptable, let alone 100,000," he said.
There had already been more than 76,000 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. as of Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Trump's comments came after the coronavirus task force put the brakes on a proposal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that sought to provide detailed guidelines for schools, churches and businesses to reopen, asking the agency for revisions that would ultimately make the guidelines less prescriptive, White House officials said.
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican lawmakers, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, May 8, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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CDC officials presented their initial 17-page plan to the task force about two weeks ago, and a rewrite of the plan hasn't been submitted to the group, one of the officials said.
The officials said the new guidance was in the works, and would be released by the administration when finalized. There was no timing on when that would happen, and it was unclear what specific revisions were requested.
The proposed guidelines, "Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework," were supposed to be published last week, according to the Associated Press, which first reported on the document. CDC scientists were told the guidance "would never see the light of day, " the AP reported.
A CDC spokesman didn't respond to a request for comment.
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Wednesday, April 8, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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The debate over the guidance comes as states have started to set their own standards to reopen, creating a patchwork of criteria across the country on when to ease social distancing measures amid concern from public-health experts that it may lead to a spike in coronavirus cases.
The president has pushed for states to reopen, emphasizing the importance of reviving the economy. U.S. workers filed 3.2 million unemployment claims last week, and nearly 33.5 million applications for unemployment benefits have been filed in the seven weeks since authorities began ordering businesses to close to combat the spread of the virus.
A man walks past the closed shop called "The Music Emporium" during the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday, May 6, 2020, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
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But his administration has preferred to leave the decision-making to individual states on how to proceed.
"We have this beautiful concept called federalism, which means that the states lead on this," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday. "That's what we're doing; it's a governor-led decision."
FOX Business staff contributed to this report.