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Trump Reveals Plan to Reopen U.S. Economy
President Trump wants to reopen the U.S. economy, but it’s not going to happen overnight. “We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time,” Trump said.
The president outlined his step-by-step plan for reopening the U.S. economy in a televised statement from the White House on Thursday. His plan calls for the economy to be reopened in stages on a case-by-case basis. State governors will set their own timetables for reopening their states. However, the White House reopening plan offers guidance as to how each state should proceed. “America wants to be open,” Trump told reporters. “We must have a working economy, and we want to get it back very, very quickly,” he added
Under the president’s “Guidelines for Opening Up America” plan, states will adhere to a three-step process for reopening their economies. Each phase incorporates incremental roll-backs of coronavirus restrictions and includes specific guidelines for travel, social distancing, and reopening non-essential businesses. Throughout the process, government health officials will monitor COVID-19 cases and, as long as cases continue to decline, state officials can progress through the phases at their own pace.
The plan doesn’t mention any specific dates. Instead, it encourages states to base their decisions on data. According to the White House guidelines, states can begin opening once they have documented a steady downward trend of new cases for two weeks. After entering phase one, states should continue to progress through the reopening guidelines if the number of new cases continues to decline.
Phases
"Trump issues guidelines to open up parts of US where coronavirus cases are in decline, testing ramped up" https://t.co/v4zWmZfOUg
— Al Lewis (@tellittoal) April 16, 2020
Phase one of the plan will allow certain nonessential businesses to reopen, including restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues, gyms, churches, and other venues. However, these businesses will be expected to adhere to stricter social distancing guidelines. Bars, schools, and daycare centers will remain closed during this phase.
During phase two, stay-at-home orders will begin to loosen. The guidelines will lift restrictions on nonessential travel and will allow bars to reopen under social distancing requirements. While most Americans would be allowed to roam freely, at-risk segments of the population would still be instructed to stay home. All hospital and nursing home visits will remain suspended under phase two of the guidelines. On the other hand, schools and youth activities will be allowed to reopen.
Under phase three, the final stage of the guidelines will see the economy almost completely reopened. At this point, the government will lift workplace restrictions and allow vulnerable individuals to resume normal social interactions. Although, continued social distancing would be recommended. Hospitals and nursing homes could begin to allow visitation, and bars can increase their standing-room capacity.
The White House’s top coronavirus advisors, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, have approved the guidelines. Dr. Fauci also spoke to reporters on Thursday and he stressed that safety was the administration’s number one priority. “The dominating drive of this was to make sure that this is done in the safest way possible,” he said.
Concerns
Earlier in the week, some business leaders expressed concerns that the country needed more virus-testing capacity to get the economy back on track. Lawmakers from both parties have also told the White House that coronavirus testing needs to be expanded. So far, the U.S. has conducted over 3 million coronavirus tests. However, some experts say that number has to increase to millions of tests per week before the American workers would feel comfortable returning to work in large numbers.
The White House team addressed some of those concerns during Thursday’s press conference. Dr. Birx said the U.S. has the capacity for “at least” a million more tests per week. “We have a whole team working lab by lab to see what it would take to turn on all of those labs that aren’t running the pieces of equipment now,” Birx told reporters.
The new reopening guidelines provide a shimmer of hope for the country. With an official plan in place, many Americans can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. A lot has to happen before the economy returns to normal, but at least the public has a better idea of what lies ahead.
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