The response to the deadly tornadoes that hit South Carolina Sunday was made even more difficult because so many people were at home because of social distancing over coronavirus, Sen. Tim Scott said Monday.
"The good news is the governor is rallying the troops," the South Carolina Republican said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "Our emergency operations center is strong. The challenge, of course, is when you have so many folks at home because of the social distancing and the protocols. We have more people at risk in many ways."
Scott said it's "hard to watch" the impact of the storms, as people are already "nervous and isolated" over coronavirus.
"It's really important to call your loved ones and stay in close contact," said Scott. "More help is coming."
Meanwhile, Scott said officials are looking to get the economy up and running after the coronavirus closures and must be able to isolate hot spots in order to mitigate the spread of the disease.
"You are hearing a lot of calls for trillions of dollars of additional spending," said Scott. "I hesitate because literally, the $2.3 trillion, we haven't even sent all the money to all the states so we don't know how those dollars will impact.
"We have set up a $500 billion fund through the commercial facilities paper, which allows us to loan money to midsized and larger businesses," said Scott. "That money can be leveraged for up to $3.5 trillion. That's still happening, is open but not up and robust ways yet. As that happens we will have an understanding of what phase three has done for our economy and unfold."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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