The debate over when and how to reopen the U.S. economy is beginning to enter the public conversation more frequently.
During his press conference on Sunday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) addressed when the restrictions on public life might be lifted.
“Big question is when do we reopen? People want to get on with their lives, people want to get out of the house, cabin fever,” he said. “We need the economy working. People need a paycheck. Life has to function. When do we reopen?”
He added, “Look, the answer is we want to reopen as soon as possible. Everyone does on a societal level; everyone does on a personal level.”
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He continued to mention the stress and anxiety that people are coping with as millions have filed for unemployment benefits and are under stay at home orders.
However, Cuomo said that the restrictions need to be lifted in a “smart” manner.
“We want to reopen as soon as possible. The caveat is, we need to be smart in the way that we reopen. What does smart mean? It means a coordinated approach, it means a regional approach, and it means a safe approach.”
Cuomo’s comments are similar to those made by other public officials on how to reopen the U.S. economy as the coronavirus outbreak subsides.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during an interview on CNN on Sunday that officials would have to take a regional approach to reopen the country.
“It is not going to be a light switch,” he said, adding, “It’s going to be depending where you are in the country, the nature of the outbreak that you’ve already experienced, and the threat of an outbreak that you may not have experienced.”
New York, which has become the epicenter of the outbreak, has reported 188,694 confirmed cases of the virus as of Monday morning.