Three-phase plan for US Governors to revive the economy, “Will be starting again.”, says President Trump!

The President of the United States, on Thursday, gave the governors a road map for recovering from the economic crisis created due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has been decided to lay a phased and deliberate approach to restoring normalcy in places that have strong testing and are observing a downfall in the number of cases.

During his daily press briefing, Trump said that people there are starting again to rejuvenate the American economy. Adding on to this, he also noted that this is a gradual process and might take some time.
The new guidelines are set to relax the restrictions in areas with low transmission rates, whereas things will remain the same in the regions that are poorly hit by the virus.

The fact that returning to normalcy will take more time than what was initially expected has been made clear with some federal officials fearing that social distancing measures might continue till the end of the year.
Trump, in a conference call with the governors, told them to take their own decisions for the respective states and assured them of his support.

Places that are observing declining infection rates and strong testing would begin a three-phase gradual reopening of businesses and schools.
Like, in phase one, the plan is to recommend strict social distancing for the people in public places. Nonessential transport and gathering of more than 10 people are to be avoided.

Whereas, in phase two, this number is allowed to rise to 50. Also, traveling would be enabled.
The last and final phase i.e., stage three, envisions a return to normalcy for most Americans. The focus will be made to detect and isolate any new identifications.

Trump has said in his address that few states have shown quite promising results, and officials can start implementing the above phases there.
According to the guidelines, the states will have to pass checkpoints, where the data over the previous 14 days will be checked before they advance from one phase to another. Also, the governors have made it clear that they will move at their own pace.

Delaware Governor John Carney, supporting the guidelines, said, “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.”

Whereas, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, seems positive to reopen parts of the state but not before contact tracing and testing capacity is increased there.

Trump’s insistence on the governors being responsible for their states comes only days after he said that he alone had the absolute authority to decide on reopening of states.

The guidelines also include general recommendations for businesses regarding their reopenings. Suggestions like temperature taking, rapid testing, and general disinfection in workplaces were given.
Also, people who are most susceptible to the disease are advised to remain in their homes until their area enters the third phase. And even then they are asked to maintain precautions and avoid close contact with other people.

Governors, on the other hand, has been moving ahead with their plans to normalize the situation. On Thursday, seven Midwestern Governors announced a coordinated reopening of their economies. Similar steps were seen to be taken by the West and the Northeast only a week before.
But amidst this, there are growing concerns about the restrictions being eased too early. More than 30,000 people have already lost their lives to this deadly virus.
President Trump also held a conference call with lawmakers he named to the newly developed advisory task force on reviving the economy. The new federal data showed that at least 22 million Americans have been thrown out of work in the last month. The lawmakers exhorted the President not to sacrifice public health by moving too quickly.
Trump on Thursday claimed that the testing procedure in the United States is the most advanced and robust one. But the fact that more testing needs to be done goes without saying.
The Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, expressed her concerns on the present testing scenario. She further said that more tests need to be conducted before things can start going back to normal.
Joe Biden, the likely presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, disagreed with the proposed three-phase plan and stressed the primary importance of testing.
On similar lines, Marc Lipsitch, a Harvard epidemiology professor, recommended that only ample amounts of testing can help identify peak infection with greater certainty.
Whereas, on the contrary, some of Trump’s allies like ecom=nomist Stephen Moore have urged him to act swiftly. Failing which, he warned, may lead to an economic catastrophe for the country.
Texas could be a testing ground for the above plan, where Governor Greg Abbott has been a close ally to the center-right from the start. Abbott said that the process would be gradual but necessary as he is facing pressure to get Texas back to work.
Also, the proposal presented by the White House is not what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended last week. The CDC insisted on specific criteria like sustained reductions over a month in positive cases, sustained decline in deaths over 15 days, etc. According to the CDC, these are necessary before easing restrictions in high transmission areas.