Trump gives governors 3-phase approach to open US

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared America one step closer to victory in its war against the “invisible enemy” as his coronavirus task force released “Opening Up America Again” guidelines.

Unlike earlier guidance that set up timelines — 15 days, then 30 days — for measures to curb the spread of the virus, the 18-page document has no dates or deadlines. Instead, it recommends that governors phase out mitigation measures when data, not dates, show progress.

The new guidelines make clear that the return to normalcy will be a much longer process than Trump initially envisioned, with federal officials warning that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through the end of the year to prevent new outbreaks.

Places with declining infections and strong testing would begin a gradual, three-phased reopening of businesses and schools — each phase lasting at least 14 days — to ensure that infections don’t accelerate again.

In the first phase, for instance, the plan recommends strict social distancing for all people in public. Gatherings larger than 10 people are to be avoided, and nonessential travel is discouraged.

In the second phase, people are encouraged to maximize social distancing where possible and limit gatherings to no more than 50 people unless precautionary measures are taken. Travel could resume.

The final phase envisions a return to normalcy for most Americans, with a focus on identification and isolation of any new infections.

“This isn’t a plan. It’s barely a powerpoint,” tweeted Ron Klain, a longtime adviser to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who observed that the task force plan has “no provision to ramp up testing.”

Because a safe vaccine has yet to be approved and is unlikely to be available for as long as 18 months, a number of health experts asserted that millions of readily available diagnostic tests could be necessary before the country can be opened up safely.

Economist and Nobel laureate Paul Romer has estimated that the country will need more than 20 million tests a day.

Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s point man on COVID-19, said that he expects some 5 million Americans will have been tested by the end of the month.

Trump predicted that governors of some low-population states with few infections might announce an end to social distancing and closures in short order, perhaps before the task force’s “30 Days to Slow the Spread” campaign ends April 30.

While Trump declined to name those states, he did mention that Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota have had very different experiences than New York and New Jersey, the two states with the highest caseloads.

“Our strategy to slow the spread has saved hundreds and thousands of lives,” the president said during a Thursday press briefing that began with his thanking health care workers, truck drivers and food suppliers for keeping the country going.

With the number of newly unemployed Americans exceeding 22 million, “Opening Up America Again” includes two words in a longtime Trump campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

The announcement of the guidelines drew mixed reactions.

“If you put the economy ahead of public health, and then you have people dropping like flies from the pandemic, you’re going to ruin the economy anyway,” medical ethicist Arthur Caplan told CNN.

GOP strategist Alice Stewart offered a different take. “I think a lot of his motivation is to provide assurance to the American people. It’s OK to start to open things back up, and it’s OK to reintegrate into society and with your friends. You should trust your governors to make the right decision,” Stewart told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The week began with Trump telling the nation’s governors, “The president of the United States calls the shots. If we weren’t here for the states, you would have had a problem with this country like you’ve never seen before. We were here to back them up.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other governors countered with a robust defense of their authority — and Trump’s lack thereof — over their states’ residents and businesses.

It was a point Trump handily conceded Thursday as he voiced his support for opening up parts of the country while making it clear that, where that does not happen, governors will be the reason.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.