Biden advisor suggests idea of national lockdown if financial aid could be provided

(KION and CBS) Dr. Michael Osterholm, an advisor to President-elect Joe Biden, suggested the possibility of a nationwide shutdown to help contain the spread of COVID-19 if financial aid could be provided in a recent interview.

"We have a big pool of money out there that we could borrow, at historic low interest rates by the federal government. We could pay for a package right now to cover all of the lost wages for individual workers, losses to small companies and medium-sized companies, for cities, states, county governments," Osterholm said.

If that happens, he said the country could potentially lock down for four to six weeks.

Since March, Congress has given $659 billion in emergency loans to small businesses and $268 billion in enhanced unemployment benefits for workers. The business assistance ran out quickly, and the unemployment aid is expected to run out next month. Members of Congress have said they are open to more stimulus spending to help with economic recovery, but could not agree on how much to spend.

Osterholm was chosen to be part of Biden's coronavirus task force. He is currently the Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, and his was formerly a science envoy for health security at the State Department.