A map to recovery
US president says Americans ready to ‘start our life again’
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has given state governors a road map for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out “a phased and deliberate approach” to restoring normal activity.
“We’re starting our life again,” Mr Trump said during his daily press briefing. “We’re starting rejuvenation of our economy again.”
The new guidelines are aimed at easing restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while holding the line in harder-hit locations. They make clear that the return to normality will be a far longer process than Mr Trump initially envisioned, with officials warning that social distancing measures may need to remain until the end of the year.
Places with declining infections and strong testing would begin a three-phase gradual reopening of businesses and schools.
In phase one, for instance, the plan recommends strict social distancing for all people in public. Gatherings larger than 10 people are to be avoided and non-essential travel is discouraged.
In phase two, people are encouraged to maximise social distancing where possible and limit gatherings to no more than 50 people unless precautionary measures are taken. Travel could resume.
Phase three envisions a return to normality for most Americans, with a focus on identification and isolation of any new infections.
Still, Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force co-ordinator, and Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infection diseases expert, said it would be a “new normal”.
But Mr Trump pushed back, suggesting that people wanted to return to watch football and fill restaurants.
“That’s going to happen … relatively quickly,” he said.
In briefing the governors, Mr Trump said they would be responsible for deciding when to lift restrictions in their states. Just days ago, he’d claimed he had the absolute authority to determine how and when states reopen.
Delaware Governor John Carney, a Democrat, said the guidelines “seem to make sense”.
“We’re days, maybe weeks away from the starting line and then you have to have 14 days of declining cases, of declining symptoms and hospital capacity that exists in case you have a rebound,” he said.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a Trump ally, cautiously floated the idea of reopening parts of the state, but said testing capacity and contact tracing would need to be considerably ramped up.
“All would be forgotten very quickly if we moved into a stage quicker than we should, and then we got into a situation where we had people dying like flies,” he said.