Home ›› 17 Apr 2020 ›› World Biz
As Covid-19 continues to spread across the US, President Donald Trump has given governors guidance on reopening state economies in the coming months.
The guidelines for "Opening up America Again" outline three phases in which states can gradually ease their lockdowns.
Mr Trump promised governors they would be handling the process themselves, with help from the federal government.
The US has 654,301 confirmed cases and 32,186 deaths due to the virus.
Mr Trump has suggested some states could reopen this month.
In his daily briefing on Thursday, President Trump declared "the next front in our war - opening up America again".
"America wants to be open and Americans want to be open," he said. "A national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution."
He said that a prolonged lockdown risked inflicting a serious toll on public health. He warned of a "sharp rise" in drug abuse, alcohol abuse, heart disease, and other "physical and mental" problems.
Trump told reporters that healthy citizens would be able to return to work "as conditions allow". He said Americans would continue to be called upon to maintain social distancing measures and to stay home if they are unwell.
Source: BBC
