Last Updated on April 18, 2020, 11:31 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Governors of Florida, Michigan, Texas and other states have outlined some tentative steps to reopen their economies on Friday, a day after the United States President Donald Trump rolled out guidelines for a phased lifting of restrictions imposed for stopping the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The states are under pressure to let non-essential businesses reopen as more than 20 million Americans are seeking unemployment benefits, even though, there is a shortage of testing which is required to prevent the outbreak from regaining traction.
The weeks of shutdown in the country have had an effect on around 97 per cent of the population of the United States. States which would meet the federal criteria would move into the first phase of reopening.
In Michigan which is heavily industrialised, the Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that she was hoping to start re-engaging parts of the economy on May 1, without offering any specifics.
Michigan, the state which Trump had narrowly won in 2016, has been facing one of the fastest-growing infection rates. Still, the residents have demanded to reopen the economy of the state, some people are even defying social distancing guidelines by taking to the streets in protest of the lockdown.
Whitmer said while referring to a decrease in hospitalisations that she is hopeful that by May 1 the country will take some steps forward, and as the country proceeds, and it goes well and there is visible progress, then the United States may go into a second phase.
Trump, seeking a second term in the election against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden on November 3, laid out on Thursday, new staggered, three-stage guidelines for US states to revive the economy even as the country continues fighting the pandemic.
“You have very different states. If you look at Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, that’s a lot different than New York, a lot different than New Jersey,” he said.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
