Trump delivers Easter Sunday speech

President Donald Trump wished Americans a happy Easter while acknowledging the bitterness of keeping church doors closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When can churches open again? During a White House briefing on Sunday, the president said he hopes Americans will be able to meet in person soon, but he didn’t give any dates and called for maintaining social distancing until then. He said he may form a task force to make plans to lift current restrictions but promised to continue listening to health experts and not reopen the economy prematurely.

Trump also retweeted a message that called for the firing of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert. Fauci told CNN on Sunday that earlier coronavirus mitigation efforts might have saved more lives. In the retweet, Trump defended his COVID-19 response, pointing to his early ban on travel from China.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s Globe Trot report about Easter around the world.