WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump gave governors a road map Thursday for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out “a phased and deliberate approach” to restoring normal activity in places that have strong testing and are seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases.

“We’re starting our life again,” Trump said during his daily press briefing. “We’re starting rejuvenation of our economy again.”

He added, “This is a gradual process.”

READ: Read the White House's 'Opening Up America Again' plan

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 normalcy 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 the end of the year to prevent a new outbreak. And they largely reinforce the plans already under development by governors, who have the primary responsibility for public health in their states.

“You’re going to call your own shots,” Trump told the governors Thursday afternoon in a conference call, according to an audio recording obtained by The Associated Press. “We’re going to be standing alongside of you.”

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 nonessential travel is discouraged.

In 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 could resume.

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

Governors of both parties made clear they will move at their own pace.

Delaware Gov. 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 Gov. 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.

At earliest, the guidelines suggest, some parts of the country could see a resumption in normal commerce and social gatherings after a month of evaluating whether easing up on restrictions has led to a resurgence in virus cases. In other parts of the country, or if virus cases pick up, it could be substantially longer.

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 before, he had drawn swift pushback for claiming he had the absolute authority to determine how and when states reopen.

“We have a very large number of states that want to get going and they’re in very good shape,” Trump said. “That’s good with us, frankly.”

The guidelines also include general recommendations to businesses as they plan for potential reopenings, suggesting temperature-taking, rapid COVID-19 testing and widespread disinfection efforts in workplaces.

Those most susceptible to the respiratory disease are advised to remain sheltered in place until their area enters the final phase — and even then are encouraged to take precautions to avoid close contact with other people.

Governors, for their part, have been moving ahead with their own plans for how to safely revive normal activity. Seven Midwestern governors announced Thursday they will coordinate on reopening their economies. Similar pacts were announced earlier in the week in the West and Northeast.

Two in three Americans expressed concerns that restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus would be eased too quickly, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Thursday.
Trump also held conference calls Thursday with lawmakers he named to a new congressional advisory task force on reviving the economy. The economic costs were clear in new federal data showing that at least 22 million Americans have been thrown out of work in the last month. But the legislators repeatedly urged the president not to sacrifice public health by moving too quickly.

“My highest priority on this task force will be to ensure the federal government’s efforts to reopen our economy are bipartisan, data-driven, and based on the expertise of public health professionals,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.

The federal government envisions a gradual recovery from the virus, in which disruptive mitigation measures may be needed in some places at least until a vaccine is available — a milestone unlikely to be reached until sometime next year.

“It’s not going to immediately be a situation where we have stadiums full of people,” said Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Thursday. “We’re Americans. We will adapt,” he added.

Trump on Thursday claimed the U.S. has “built the most advanced and robust testing anywhere in the world.” But even people close to him warned more would be necessary.

“We are struggling with testing at a large scale,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told ABC’s “The View.” “You really can’t go back to work until we have more tests.”

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.”
“That is a catastrophic outcome for our country. Period,” Moore said he advised the president. “We can’t have 30 million people in this country unemployed or you’re going to have social chaos.”

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By ZEKE MILLER, ALAN SUDERMAN, and KEVIN FREKING

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Washington, Alan Suderman in Richmond, Va., Anthony Izaguirre in Charleston, W.Va., and Mike Catalini in Trenton, N.J. contributed to this report.

•President says the country has undertaken the greatest mobilization effort since World War II

•President Trump praises the military for their efforts in battling the virus

•President says the US has conducted more testing than anywhere else in the world

•President Trump says strategy to slow spread of virus has saved hundreds of thousands of lives

•President says it appears curve has flattened, the peak ‘is behind us.’ Says that number of deaths will be lower than the most optimistic numbers

•President Trump says ‘no person who has needed a ventilator has been denied a ventilator’

•”We can begin the next front in our war.” President says it will be “opening up America again.”

•President Trump says a shutdown is not a viable long-term solution

•The health of the American people and the reopening of businesses must be linked, according to the president

•President Trump says the administration is offering guidelines on a phased reopening of the states

•On the war against COVID-19, President Trump says the country is winning now

•President says some states will be able to open sooner than others. Says the reopening will be undertaken in a responsible fashion

•President Trump says the reopening will be a gradual process and that high-risk individuals need to still be protected

•President Trump urges states to work together to ‘harmonize’ on a response

•President said should the virus return in the fall, the guidelines will help ‘put it out quickly.’

•President Trump says US will begin to expand testing capacity

•President says testing in the United States has surpassed South Korea

•President says new forms of testing are ‘much quicker’ and ‘much better’ so that laboratories are not as needed

•President Trump says members of all political parties are working together to conquer COVID-19

•Vice President Pence speaks, says guidelines on opening up America again are based on science and common sense

•Vice President Pence says guidelines on reopening to governors this afternoon. Will be done at a time ‘of their choosing.’

•Vice President Pence says the reopening plan is based on “up to date data and readiness.”

•Vice President Pence says the reopening plan can be implemented on a statewide or county-by-county basis

•Dr. Birx says first people to go out in public as part of reopening are not the most vulnerable

•Dr. Fauci speaks. Calls the reopening plan ‘robust,’ says the reopening is not just a light switch you can turn on and off. He says we have a large and diverse country and different areas have gone through different hardships with COVID-19

•Dr. Fauci says main drive of reopening plan is to make sure it is done in the safest manner possible

•Dr. Fauci says there are ‘multiple checkpoints’ of safety in the plan

•President Trump says sports will likely start for television only, no fans

•Some states that meet certain criteria could reopen as soon as tomorrow