Trump to Resume Coronavirus Briefings as Cases Surge

President Donald Trump said he would resume his briefings to the public on the coronavirus pandemic, as infections surge around the country.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he would probably hold a briefing on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in Washington.

“We have had this big flare up in Florida, Texas, a couple of other places. So I think what we’re going to do is I’ll get involved and we’ll start doing briefings,” Trump said. “Whether it’s this afternoon, tomorrow - probably tomorrow.”

The president held near-daily news conferences on the virus for several weeks before abandoning the practice after he drew criticism for contradicting government scientists and making other controversial statements, including that doctors should investigate injecting disinfectants into Americans as a means of treating coronavirus.

As Trump has urged the nation to lift public health measure aimed at slowing the spread of the virus, infections have resurged and forced many areas to reimpose limitations. Florida reported 360,394 Covid-19 cases on Monday and a death total of 5,072. The U.S. has now tallied more than 3.7 million cases -- the most reported by any country -- of the approximately 14.5 million worldwide.

Yet, in an interview taped Friday for “Fox News Sunday,” Trump said the U.S. response was the “envy of the world.” He played down the rise in cases in the U.S., saying many people experience nothing more than “sniffles,” and that the number of infections is only up because of wider testing.

Trump also said that Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert, is a “little bit of an alarmist” but that the two men have a “great relationship.”