Coronavirus: Governors can ‘call the shots’ on lifting lockdowns, Trump says

Donald Trump releases three-phase ‘science-based’ blueprint to ease restrictions, restart the US economy.

President Donald Trump outlines his blueprint, as Vice President Mike Pence listens. Picture: Alex Brandon/AP

Donald Trump has released a cautious blueprint for restarting the US economy, calling for a ‘science-based’ and staged approach to easing restriction in states where infection rates are falling.

The president did not call for sweeping measures to quickly reopen the economy but instead said it would be left to state Governors to ‘call the shots’ about when the time was right for their region.

He said some states could begin the process by May 1 or earlier if they wanted.

“We’re starting our life again,” Mr Trump said at a White House press briefing. “We’re starting rejuvenation of our economy again. This is a gradual process.”

“We are not opening all at once but one careful step at a time,” Trump said, noting that the impact of the virus has impacted unevenly across the 50 states of the US.

“If they need to remain closed, we will allow them to do that.”

Mr Trump said the three-phase blueprint had been backed by his health experts and would require states to reach certain criteria, including testing, hospital capacity and falling infections for a 14 day period before they could begin phase one of reopening.

The phases

In phase one strict social distancing would remain with gathering limited to 10 people and only non-essential travel allowed. Some restaurants could operate with social distancing.

Phase two and three gradually lift restrictions further with the understanding that any breakout in infections would quickly be tackled with fresh restrictions.

But the plan, which is not mandatory, does not include a national testing strategy to improve testing for the virus to give a broader picture of the extent of infections and spread.

Mr Trump’s guidelines effectively ceded responsibility to the states to gauge when they should reopen, despite his claims earlier this week that as president he would decide when the economy reopened.

“You’re going to call your own shots,” Mr. Trump told state governors in a phone call on Friday (AEDT). “We’ll be standing right alongside of you and we’re going to get our country open.”

Mr Trump said that as much as 30 per cent of the country has reported no new cases in the past week and that the national death toll looked like it would be far less than 100,000 deaths.

“Our experts say the curve has flattered and the peak in new cases is behind us,” he said. “We can begin the next front in our war … we are opening up our country.’

Mr Trump said a prolonged lockdown of the economy would ‘inflict an immense and wide ranging toll on public health,’ through suicides, alcoholism, domestic violence and a host of other problems.

New York shutdown extended

However the current crisis continues to swallow lives as a frightening rate as the US hit a new record of daily deaths on Friday (AEDT) with 2664 fatalities reported, taking the toll death toll to more than 34,500.

In the nation’s virus hotspot of New York a further 606 deaths were reported, with the state’s Governor Andrew Cuomo extending the state’s shutdown through to May 15.

Mr Cuomo said the extended shutdown period was needed to ‘control the beast’ and reduce the infection rate in a state where more than 10,000 have died.

“We have to continue doing what we’re doing,” Mr Cuomo said about social distancing. “So one month, we’ll continue the close-down policies. What happens after then? I don’t know. We will see depending on what the data shows.”

However he was encouraged by the continued fall in the rate of new hospitalisations and intubations and that the 606 deaths, while still too high, was the lowest number in ten days.

Mr Cuomo said New York would be reopened only when the rate of infections came down and then it would be on a gradual basis with the most essential and low risk businesses opening first. Less essential and more high risk businesses, probably including bars and restaurants, would be the last priority.

The Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, said that he wanted to get his state’s economy moving again but that now ‘would be the worst possible time’ to reopen it.

“Everybody wants to get our economy back and get people back to work and get our small businesses open, but we also want to make sure we do it in a safe way, that we’re not just ramping things back up and endangering the lives of thousands of people,” he said.

5.2 million jobless in a week

The US economy continues to be battered by the coronavirus shutdown, with Americans filing 5.2 million jobless claims last week, taking total jobless claims over the past four weeks to a record 22 million – the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Meanwhile Republicans renewed their attacks on the World Health Organisation after Mr Trump suspended more than $US400 million in US funding for the UN agency which he said failed in its responsibility to warn the world about the deadly nature of the coronavirus.

Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy accused China of behaving in engaging in a cover-up about the virus that ‘has directly led to American deaths” and that WHO was a ‘mouthpiece’ of China.

“If they are going to be the mouthpiece of China — I think there are fabulous people in WHO, but why don’t they look at it and change their own direction,” Mr McCarthy said. “What the president is doing is bringing attention to it, so we’re safer around the world. I mean, the deception of China has directly led to American deaths.”

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia