President Donald Trump is keen on reopening the country and its economy despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis. As seen in the latest White House briefing, Trump unveiled the plan on reopening the states.
BBC reports that Trump unveiled the plan to reopen the states through the governors in a set of guidelines. The guidelines, referred to as “Opening Up America Again,” are broken down into three phases so the reopening is more gradual than aggressive. Trump reiterated that it will be based on the state governors’ prerogatives with some assistance from the federal government.
“America wants to be open and Americans want to be open. A national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution,” said Trump during the briefing.
Phase one of the guidelines involves many of the current shutdown measures such as avoiding non-essential travel and steering clear of group gatherings. However, public establishments such as places of worship, sports venues, and restaurants can resume but under strict distancing protocols.
Should there not be a resurgence of the coronavirus, phase two will then allow leisure travel. Schools will also resume, still with some distancing protocols in place.
Phase three details that the states with lessening cases of the coronavirus can allow some public interactions but with some distancing measures still in place. Hospital visits and visits to care homes can also resume and bars will then be allowed to increase their standing room capacity.
Trump continued to explain that a prolonged nationwide shutdown will have adverse effects on public health, citing a possible increase in drug abuse, alcohol abuse, heart disease, and physical and mental problems. The President also said that those who are healthy will be able to return to work “as conditions allow” but would still maintain social distancing measures and staying home if feeling ill.
Meanwhile, the current lockdown in the United States restricts non-essential travel. However, Trump’s eldest daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump may have come under criticism for traveling with her family to the Trump National Golf Club to celebrate Passover. The White House defended her trip in a statement. “Her travel was not commercial. She chose to spend a holiday in private with her family,”
Ivanka, along with her husband and fellow White House adviser Jared Kushner and their three children, traveled to the “closed-down facility considered to be a family home.”