President Donald Trump held a press conference on Thursday and announced new federal guidelines on reopening parts of US.
The guidelines issued by Trump during the press conference aims to ease some social distancing measures previously imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The “Opening Up America Again” lays out the conditions necessary for areas of the country to allow employees to resume work. However, the decision to lift measures lies on state governors.
“We must have a working economy. And we want to get it back. Very, very quickly. And that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump said during the White House press briefing after introducing the 18-page plan.
As many as 29 states “will be able to open relatively soon,” Trump noted. “We have a lot of states that, through location, through luck and also through a lot of talent ... are in a very good position.”
But “it could be that sometime in the fall there could be some flare-ups” of the virus, he added.
Mass testing
States have implemented their own quarantine measures to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. However, they have the right to not observe the new instructions from the White House.
The new guidance appears to urge governors to relax their restrictions. Meanwhile, health experts and business leaders assert that mass testing systems are crucial before Americans can safely return to normalcy.
“America wants to be open and Americans want to be open,” Trump said. “We took the greatest economy in the history of the world, and we closed it in order to win this war. And we’re in the process of winning now.”
Three phases
The guidelines do not propose a specific timeline for the reopening of economies. Instead, the document outlines three “phases” that parts of the US can follow as they loosen measures on businesses and individuals.
The first phase requires a low number of confirmed cases, positive tests, and reports of flu- or COVID-19-like symptoms in a state or region.
The guidance recommends a "robust testing program in place for at-risk healthcare workers, including emerging antibody testing."
According to the plan, Phase One should allow “all vulnerable individuals” to shelter in place. In addition, everyone must still observe social distancing practices when in public.
Employers are advised to “return to work in phases” if possible. They can also implement precautions like removing the accessibility of common areas and reducing nonessential travel.
Phase Two is about areas with “no evidence of a rebound” in cases. The new instructions from the White House suggest that low-risk individuals “consider minimizing time spent in crowded environments."
The section “Core State Preparedness Responsibilities” contains a so-called contact tracing. Contract tracing refers to the process of detecting the interactions an infected person has had in order to determine the movement of the virus.
The plan is considered a “natural evolution from what we have said before,” according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infection expert on the White House coronavirus task force and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“By the time we get into the fall, I think we’re going to be in pretty good shape,” Fauci noted.
