“America wants to be open and Americans want to be open,” US President Donald Trump said in his Thursday evening news conference.
“A national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution.”
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the US, Trump has given governors guidance on reopening state economies in the coming months.
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.
The guidelines for “Opening up America Again” outline three phases in which states can gradually ease their lockdowns.
The US has 667,801 confirmed cases and 32,917 deaths linked to Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus.
