I am not a doctor, nor do I portray one on TV. Moreover, I don’t pretend to be a medical expert who stands in front of reporters each day in the White House press briefing room.

I am just an American citizen who loves my country beyond measure. Thus, I want to implore the president who masquerades as a medical genius to abandon any thought of “re-opening” the nation by May 1.

To do so likely would put millions of our fellow countrymen and women in dire peril of exposure to the COVID-19 strain of the coronavirus.

How do I know that? I don’t. I am endorsing the view being expressed by medical experts who say that May 1 is far too early for the president to make any such declaration, to say that, “Hey, it’s OK for businesses to resume ‘normal’ activity.”

Our schools in Texas are closed at least until May 4. I would be willing to bet the mortgage that Gov. Greg Abbott won’t allow the public school system to open, that he’ll likely order them closed for the remainder of the academic year. That’s fine with me.

The president, I should add, has no real authority to re-open anything. That power rests farther down on the chain of command, with governors, county officials, mayors and city councils.

The president does have the power of the bully pulpit, which he can use to maximum effectiveness. This president, though, too often uses that power recklessly. Were he to declare that business is open on May 1 would provide a glaring example of recklessness.

This nation needs to test many more of its citizens before we can declare that the coronavirus is being defeated. To date, we have tested about 1 percent of our population. One percent! How can the medical authorities make any determination with such a minuscule sample of our nation’s population? They cannot!

Yes, we hear that the infection rate in some areas is decreasing, as is the death rate of those who have been diagnosed with the disease. That’s welcome news. We all should pray that the trend continues.

The First of May is just three weeks away. That is too soon to lift the restrictions.

No one wants to keep living like this forever. A premature return to the way it was, though, only threatens to lengthen — and possibly worsen — the restrictions we are facing.

Worse than that, it threatens to sicken and kill more Americans.