The number of confirmed cases exceeded 670,000 and the number of deaths exceeded 33,000. At this time, US President Trump announced the federal guidelines for "opening the United States again".
On the evening of April 16, local time, Trump said at the White House daily outbreak briefing, "The next front line of this war is-open the United States again." He published an 18-page guide, hoping that the United States would restart its economy in three stages.
There are three main points in Trump's speech that day. First, the new US pneumonia epidemic has passed its peak and can be restarted gradually; second, the blockade is not a long-term plan, Americans hope to restart; third, the long-term blockade will lead to a series of public health The problem must be restarted as soon as possible.
In order to be able to fully restart, Trump also insisted that he has the "absolute power" attitude as the President of the United States and promised to let the state governors decide the state's restart plan.
But is it really that simple?
Trump wants "three steps" to reopen the United States
According to CNN reports, on the afternoon of April 16, local time, Trump and the governors of 50 states held a conference call to discuss the gradual restart of the US economy and the opening of the United States. That night, Trump published an 18-page "open America again" federal guide.
This guide provides some suggestions, including that people should maintain good hygiene, companies should formulate policies to ensure employees maintain social distance, and states should continue to do virus detection and close contact tracking.
Of course, reopening is also a prerequisite, that is, the number of newly diagnosed new coronary pneumonia cases in the state has declined in 14 days, and a plan to increase the detection of medical personnel has been established. On this basis, the states can gradually restart the economy and lift the blockade in three stages.
In the first stage, most of the blockade measures will still exist, such as avoiding unnecessary travel, avoiding the gathering of more than 10 people, encouraging remote office work, and the school still being closed. However, some large venues such as restaurants, churches, stadiums, etc. can be opened gradually while maintaining a social distance.
In the second stage, if there is no evidence that the epidemic will occur again, the travel advice can be cancelled gradually, the school can be reopened, and the bar can also be opened limitedly. In the third stage, states where the number of new cases continue to decline can resume their workplaces and allow visits to nursing homes and hospitals.
According to the guidelines, each stage must last at least 14 days. Some states can gradually return to normal after at least one month of evaluation. For some states that have serious outbreaks or have increased infection rates during the reopening period, it may take longer. To return to normal.
Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House Outbreak Response Working Group, said at the press conference on the 16th that the third phase may become a "new normal", while still recommending vulnerable groups to avoid going to densely populated areas.
Why did Trump "return" power to the governor?
Trump has a long history of wanting to restart the United States. Initially, Trump hoped that the United States would restart after Easter (April 12), and later found it hopeless, and later said it hoped to restart before May 1.
In order to fully open the United States, Trump also had discords with the governors of various states. On March 13, Trump first tweeted that "restarting states is the decision of the US president and the federal government", and then at the epidemic briefing that day, "the US president has full power, and the federal government has absolute power." ".
A number of American media immediately pointed out that Trump's remarks are wrong-according to the US Constitution, states have the "security rights", that is, they can manage the behavior of local people under the public health crisis. The governors of several states also stated that the blockade order was issued by them, and they should naturally decide when to lift the blockade.
But on the 16th, Trump suddenly changed his previous attitude, saying when to open "this is the decision of the governors of each state", "you will be fully responsible and we will help."
According to Politico, a US media report, Trump said on the same day, "We will not fully open immediately, but will take a prudent measure at a time." "Some states will open faster than others, because these states are not caught in other states." Trouble". Trump said, "Each state is different, they are beautiful. We care about all states, but they are really, very different. If they need to continue to blockade, we will allow them to do so. If they think they have arrived When opening, we will give them the freedom and guidance to let them complete their tasks quickly. "
In this regard, California Governor Gavin Newsom said that Trump ’s allowing states to decide on their own opening arrangements is a "very exciting" signal. "The President recognized the differences among states and regions and agreed to maintain the states. Uniqueness. " Newsom has announced some California reopening arrangements this week, and has decided to work with the three west coast states to gradually restore the economy.
Politico pointed out that Trump suddenly changed his attitude and handed over the power of reopening to the state governors, in fact, he also transferred the responsibility to the state governors. To some extent, this will help reduce the political impact of the epidemic on him.
A number of people familiar with the situation told Politico that Trump ’s advisers have always emphasized with Trump that the key decision-making power should be handed over to the states. It is a huge mistake to disagree with the state governors during this period.
Will Trump reopen the United States?
Although the conflicts with the governors of the states have been resolved, does Trump hope to reopen the United States as soon as possible?
The British "Guardian" pointed out that Trump's so-called "scientifically based" reopening strategy is actually very confusing and leaves many questions unanswered.
For example, the guide did not give a clear date-Trump said some states may reopen "tomorrow" (17th), but did not specify which states; the guide also emphasized that the state must ensure that before opening There is sufficient testing capacity, but it is not clear how many testing reagents are necessary, nor has a national testing strategy been proposed.
In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the White House ’s guidelines of "ambiguous and contradictory", saying that "want to reopen and restore life, testing ability is the key. The White House's guidelines have not been able to make up for it The failure of the President did not heed the advice of scientists and produced and distributed rapid testing reagents nationwide. "
CNN pointed out that most governors and public health experts said that without large-scale testing, the United States cannot return to normal work because without large-scale testing, it is still unclear who has been infected and may continue to spread the virus.
Regarding Trump's repeated emphasis that the US epidemic has passed its peak, US media also pointed out that this is not the case.
According to CNN reports, Box said on the 16th that there are currently fewer than 1,000 confirmed cases in nine states, and they may become the first regions to remove social distance restrictions. Trump also said that he believes that nearly 30 states are "in good condition", hoping that some places can be reopened before May 1.
However, even those states with the fewest confirmed cases are not ready to open as soon as possible. For example, in North Dakota, there are currently only 393 confirmed cases, but daily new cases are still increasing, which means that the state may not reach its peak in a few weeks.
The governors of some severe epidemic states are also cautious about opening up as soon as possible. According to the BBC, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo said on the 16th that New York State's "household isolation order" will continue until May 15. New York State is the hardest hit by the epidemic in the United States. Although the epidemic has gradually stabilized in recent days, there are still hundreds of new deaths per day. Some states on the East Coast, West Coast, and Northeast regions of the United States have announced areas of cooperation and opening, but no specific timetable has been given.
At the press conference on the 16th, Anthony Fudge, director of the American Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also said that even if the United States restarts the economy in stages, it does not mean that the epidemic has ended. "It is important to continue to take measures to prevent The virus spreads until there is a vaccine. It is very likely that as we restart, the virus will come back again. "
In an interview with the Associated Press on the 14th, Foch also stated that restarting the economy on May 1 is "somewhat too optimistic" for most of the United States.
Beijing News reporter Xie Lian
Editor Fan Yijing proofreads Chun Chun