{"id":702,"date":"2020-04-17T10:15:45","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T09:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedailyleaks.com\/?p=702"},"modified":"2020-04-17T10:27:30","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T09:27:30","slug":"president-trump-unveils-three-stage-process-for-states-to-end-coronavirus-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedailyleaks.com\/president-trump-unveils-three-stage-process-for-states-to-end-coronavirus-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"President Trump unveils three-stage process for states to end coronavirus shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump has laid out new guidelines for U.S. states to emerge from a coronavirus shutdown in a staggered, three-stage approach meant to revive the U.S. economy even as the country continues to fight the pandemic.<\/p>\n

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The president in his recommendations on Thursday, called on states to show a \u201cdownward trajectory\u201d of COVID-19 cases or positive tests for the disease over 14 days before proceeding with the plan, which gradually loosens restrictions on businesses that have been shuttered to blunt the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time,\u201d Reuters<\/a> quoted Trump as saying when speaking to reporters at the White House. The president had said earlier this month he wanted to reopen the economy with a \u201cbig bang.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan is a set of recommendations for state governors, not orders. In that sense, it represents a backdown by Trump, who on Monday insisted he had total authority to direct states to re-open or remain closed. The responsibility for such decisions lies with state, not federal, authorities.<\/p>\n

With the onus on governors, the plan also gives Trump political cover if not everything goes well. The president, a Republican who is running for re-election in November, has faced criticism for downplaying the seriousness of the virus in the early weeks of the outbreak.<\/p>\n

The recommendations drew criticism from Ron Klain, who spearheaded the Obama administration\u2019s response to Ebola and has advised former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t a plan. It\u2019s barely a powerpoint,\u201d he said on Twitter, noting it did not include provisions to ramp up testing or set a specific standard for levels of the disease before economic opening.<\/p>\n

Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Biden said testing was key to opening the country and criticized Trump\u2019s presentation for lacking specifics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t call it a plan. I think what he\u2019s done, he\u2019s kind of punted,\u201d Biden said in an interview on CNN.<\/p>\n

The new guidelines effectively end, at least for some states, the 30-day federal virus mitigation rules that were meant to stay in place through the end of April. States that have met the criteria can move into the first phase of re-opening on Friday, Trump said. Some 29 states would be in a position to re-open soon, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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China’s March-quarter GDP falls for first time on record<\/a><\/h2>\n

\u25b2<\/span>S&P 500<\/span>0.58%<\/span><\/a>\u25b2<\/span>US 10YR<\/span>8.90%<\/span><\/a>\u25bc<\/span>OIL<\/span>-0.11%<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

China\u2019s economy shrank in the March quarter for the first time since current records began almost three decades ago, as the coronavirus shut down factories and malls and put millions out of work.<\/p>\n