U.S. President Donald Trump has announced new proposed guidelines on Thursday for how and when the U.S. economy can re-open amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The key proposal is a phased plan, “Opening Up America Again,” which includes a way for audiences to return to movie theaters
The plan sets a series of proposed benchmarks, dubbed ‘gating criteria’, which states and regions would have to satisfy before they could start to relax social distancing restrictions and business closures. Specifically three criteria have to be met:
– There must be a downward trajectory of reported flu-like illnesses and cases with COVID-like symptoms.
– There must be a downward trajectory of documented COVID-19 cases, or positive COVID-19 tests.
– Hospitals must be able to treat all patients without crisis care, and have a robust testing program for at-risk healthcare workers.
Once states could satisfy all of these criteria within a 14-day period, they could move to Phase One which allows for large venues – including movie theaters, sporting venues and sit-down restaurants – to re-open but only ‘under strict physical distancing protocols’ including maintaining six feet of distance between individuals. All non-essential travel should be minimized and people should avoid gathering in groups larger than 10.
Phase Two means a state or region has reached the gating criteria a second time without a rebound. In it, large venues could allow patrons under ‘moderate physical distancing protocols,’ and individuals are discouraged from gatherings of 50 or more people.
Phase Three, which is being referred to as ‘the new normal’ before a working COVID-19 vaccine has been approved and widely distributed, relaxes restrictions further to ‘limited physical distancing protocols’ for public venues.
Some states have already met the gating criteria and could reopen soon with Montana and Utah reportedly potentially able to reopen almost immediately. However there may be some setbacks in which a rebound of COVID-19 cases would cause states or regions to have to backtrack and reintroduce more severe restrictions.
Source: THR
