President Donald Trump has given state governors a road map for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out "a phased and deliberate approach" to restoring normal activity.
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"We're starting our life again," Trump said during his daily press briefing. "We're starting rejuvenation of our economy again."
The new guidelines are aimed at easing restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while holding the line in harder-hit locations. They make clear that the return to normality will be a far longer process than Trump initially envisioned, with federal officials warning that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through to the end of the year to prevent a new outbreak.
Places with declining infections and strong testing would begin a three-phase gradual reopening of businesses and schools.
In phase one, for instance, the plan recommends strict social distancing for all people in public. Gatherings larger than 10 people are to be avoided and non-essential travel is discouraged.
In phase two, people are encouraged to maximise social distancing where possible and limit gatherings to no more than 50 people unless precautionary measures are taken. Travel could resume.
Phase three envisions a return to normality for most Americans, with a focus on identification and isolation of any new infections.
Still, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infection diseases expert, said it would be a "new normal."
But Trump pushed back, suggesting that people wanted to return to watch football games and fill restaurants. "That's going to happen and it's going to be relatively quickly," he predicted.
In briefing the governors on the plan, Trump said they were going to be responsible for deciding when it is safe to lift restrictions in their states. Just days ago, he'd claimed he had the absolute authority to determine how and when states reopen.
Delaware Governor John Carney, a Democrat, said the guidelines "seem to make sense."
"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," he said.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a Trump ally, cautiously floated the idea of reopening parts of the state, but said testing capacity and contact tracing would need to be considerably ramped up before restrictions could be safely lifted.
"All would be forgotten very quickly if we moved into a stage quicker than we should, and then we got into a situation where we had people dying like flies," Justice told reporters.
Trump said parts of the country that are lesser-hit would be able to proceed to "phase one" of his guidelines "literally tomorrow." But he said he doesn't want New York or other hard-hit areas to come back too soon.
A big testing ground for Trump's road map could be Texas, where Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who has stuck close to federal guidance throughout the crisis, will lay out his reopening plan Friday.
Two in three Americans have expressed concerns that restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus would be eased too quickly, according to a Pew Research Centre survey released Thursday.
Members of a congressional advisory task force on reviving the economy have also urged the president not to sacrifice public health by moving too quickly.
But some of Trump's conservative allies, like economist Stephen Moore, have encouraged him to act swiftly, warning of "a mini Great Depression if we keep the economy shut down."
"We can't have 30 million people in this country unemployed or you're going to have social chaos." he said.
Australian Associated Press
