Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. shouldn’t shut down the economy again even if there is another surge in coronavirus cases. “We’ve learned that if you shut down the economy, you’re gonna create more damage — medical problems that get put on hold,” Mnuchin said Thursday on CNBC. “We can’t shut down the economy again.” Mnuchin added that he believes President Donald Trump made the right decision to urge states to ease social distancing rules that have crippled the U.S. economy. He said that in the event of a resurgence, it will not be necessary to impose restrictions again because Covid-19 testing and contact tracing are improving and officials understand more about how to contain outbreaks.
While the U.S has seen a decline in some services, such as cancer screenings and childhood vaccinations, during the lock-down, health experts have warned that it’s a false choice to weigh those directly against the pandemic. The U.S. continues to see around 20,000 new cases and 1,000 deaths per day from the virus, with rising case totals in states including Georgia, Arizona and Texas.