‘States safely coming back’: Trump
President Donald Trump on Wednesday applauded steps by a handful of Republican-led U.S. states to reopen their economies, but New York’s governor, wary of a potential fresh surge of coronavirus cases, cautioned that it was “no time to act stupidly.”
About a half-dozen U.S. states, mostly in the South, are loosening stay-at-home guidelines, allowing an array of non-essential businesses to reopen in the hope of reviving their devastated state economies.
Trump, a Republican seeking re-election on Nov. 3, gave them a show of support on Twitter.
“States are safely coming back. Our Country is starting to OPEN FOR BUSINESS again. Special care is, and always will be, given to our beloved seniors (except me!),” wrote Trump, who is 73.
States and local governments previously issued “stay-at-home” or “shelter-in-place” orders affecting about 94 per cent of Americans to try to limit the number of new cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who met with Trump on Tuesday, said his state was showing more signs the worst was over, including a drop in hospitalizations. Even so, he warned of a potential “second wave” if restrictions are relaxed irresponsibly.
“This is no time to act stupidly,” Cuomo added. “More people are going to die if we are not smart.”
Cuomo acknowledged that local officials feel political pressure to reopen businesses but warned against making decisions based on such factors.
“We make a bad move, it’s going to set us back,” he said.
Cuomo said there were 474 coronavirus-related deaths in his state in the last day, the lowest since April 1. But that pushed the overall death toll in New York, the U.S. epicentre of the pandemic, past 20,000.
At current rates, U.S. deaths could reach 50,000 later this week.
A University of Washington model, often cited by the White House, now projects nearly 66,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths by Aug. 4, an upward revision from its previous projection on April 18 of a toll of about 60,300.
Greg Abbott of Texas on Wednesday became the latest Republican governor to signal his intention to start lifting restrictions. Abbott said he would announce a plan next week to broadly reopen the state’s economy during the first week of May.
Georgia is giving the green light to gyms, hair salons, bowling alleys and tattoo and massage parlours to reopen on Friday, followed by movie houses and restaurants next week. Republican Governor Brian Kemp ordered the actions.
Cherish Burnham, a 45-year-old stay-at-home mother from Roswell, Ga., said she was stunned by the governor’s decision, saying it could put more lives at risk.
“It’s careless and will be catastrophic to countless more lives in our state.”