This archive report was first published on 18 May 2020.
Coronavirus Updates: Economy to Recover, Sports to Return ¶
As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, there are signs of hope on the economic and sports fronts.
Jerome H. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, said in a recent interview that while he expected the US economy to recover from the sharp and painful downturn brought about by the coronavirus, that process would take time — potentially until the end of 2021.
“This economy will recover; it may take a while,” Mr. Powell said, adding that the economy could make a start without an effective vaccine, but not get all the way there.
President Trump, meanwhile, has expressed enthusiasm for the return of live sports during the pandemic. In a recent appearance on NBC, he said, “We want to get sports back, we miss sports. We need sports in terms of the psyche of our country. And that’s what we’re doing.”
While Sunday’s exhibition was contested without spectators, Mr. Trump said he hoped that future events would be teeming with fans. “We want to get it back to where it was, we want big, big stadiums loaded with people,” he said.
However, Dr. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, cautioned that the country is not yet ready for the return of sports. “I would love to be able to have all sports back,” he said. “But as a health official and a physician and a scientist, I have to say, right now, when you look at the country, we’re not ready for that yet.”
Elsewhere, the P.G.A. Tour is planning to become one of the first major American sports leagues to return to competition with the Charles Schwab Classic on June 11 in Fort Worth.
