President Donald Trump has provided governors with a phased approach to reopen their economies, which have been damaged by social distancing measures taken to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
While assuring governors that they can “call their own shots,” Trump introduced new guidelines for easing restrictions in areas that achieve low COVID-19 transmission, according to a report in the Associated Press.
After meeting certain “gating” criteria related to COVID-19 infection rates and hospital capacity, the guidelines allow states to reopen in phases. The basic elements of each phase include the following:
Phase one: Recommends strict social distancing for all people in public. Gatherings larger than 10 people are to be avoided and nonessential travel is discouraged.
Phase two: People are encouraged to maximize social distancing where possible and limit gatherings to no more than 50 people unless precautionary measures are taken. Travel can resume.
Phase three: This phase envisions a return to normalcy for most people with a focus on identification and isolation of any new infections.
For more inforation on criteria and phases, visit whitehouse.gov.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ Badger Bounce Back plan to reopen Wisconsin also is based on gating criteria. Details of the plan can be found here.
