Under the new White House guidelines, governors will determine a timeline for reopening their states. “Every state is very different,” President Trump said. “If they need to remain closed, we will allow them to do that.” The new guidelines come as lawmakers and business leaders press the administration to expand virus testing.
While pushing to reopen the economy, Mr. Trump acknowledged the continued risk and said Americans should continue to practice “vigorous” hygiene practices, including social-distancing and, when possible, teleworking.
Mr. Trump expressed optimism that as many as 29 states would be ready to open their economies “relatively soon,” though no specifics were provided. But, testing would need to expand in those states and across the country.
The U.S. has conducted more than 3 million tests for COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak, according to the WSJ. Experts say the level of testing would need to increase to millions of tests a week before Americans can return to work in large numbers.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shut down large segments of the U.S. economy and has raised the total number of Americans who sought unemployment benefits for the month to 22 million.
Three-phase process encourages states to make data-based decisions to reopen their state economies
The White House guidelines’ approach are based on county and state-specific conditions. The new guidelines, formally known as ‘Opening Up America Again‘, outline a three-phase process for opening up the country based on the scope of the outbreak in individual states. The guidelines say states should move to the first phase of reopening after exhibiting a downward trend of documented cases or positive tests over a two-week period.
In the first phase, movie theaters, restaurants, sports venues, places of worship, gyms and other venues could open with strict social distancing guidelines in place. The plan recommends that vulnerable people stay at home during the first phase, and prohibits visits to nursing homes and hospitals. Some people could return to work in phases, although telework would still be encouraged.
In the second phase, nonessential travel could resume and bars could open with some restrictions. Schools and youth activities could reopen.
For phase three, there would be no restrictions on workplaces and vulnerable people could resume social interactions, but should seek to follow social distancing. Visits to hospitals and nursing homes could resume.
Sources:
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Guidelines-for-Opening-Up-America-Again.pdf
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-surges-in-some-asian-countries-that-had-been-lightly-hit-11587031743
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-set-to-unveil-guidelines-for-lifting-coronavirus-restrictions-11587050541