US House decides against returning to work next week due to coronavirus COVID-19, President Donald Trump fumes

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Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have decided that they will not return to work next week as planned due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Democratic leaders said on Tuesday (April 28). 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told the media that the decision to not return to House of Representatives was taken by him and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after discussing the situation with the official House physician, as well as House members.

"The numbers (of coronavirus cases) in the District of Columbia are still going up. The House physician`s view was that there was a risk to members that was one he would not recommend taking," Hoyer told reporters.

Interestingly, the Republican-run Senate is scheduled to return to session next week and US President Donald Trump, a Republican, on Tuesday slammed the Democrat-led House of "enjoying their vacation". 

"They`re enjoying their vacation. You look at Nancy Pelosi eating ice cream on late-night television," he told reporters at the White House. 

It may be recalled that during a recent interview to MSNBC Pelosi had shown off a home freezer full of ice cream. "This president has presided over the worst disaster in our country`s history, an assault on the lives and the livelihoods of the American people, and he did so by neglect of information, also denial and delay in accepting the facts," Pelosi told MSNBC.

"I have ice cream in my freezer; I guess that`s better than having Lysol in somebody`s lungs," she added, referring to Trump's suggestion that doctors should try putting disinfectants to treat coronavirus patients.

The coronavirus that has been spread over 185 countries has now infected more than 30.7 lakh people with taking around 2.13 lakh lives across the world. As of 10:15 PM IST, close to 30,75,000 people have contracted COVID-19 while 2,13,200 people have succumbed to the fatal virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.