US President Donald Trump has announced that the US government is finalizing a plan to reopen the US economy, which has been paralyzed by staying at home measures aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The social distancing guidelines announced by the Trump administration will expire on April 30. At his routine press conference on Monday, Trump said he was still determined to reopen the United States to business as soon as possible.
When asked if he has the authority to override the closure imposed by state governors, Trump said: “When someone is president of the United States, the authority is full”. He told reporters that "the President of the United States is the one who fired the shots."
During the press conference, Trump denied ignoring early warnings about the coronavirus. The president used campaign-style video by the White House, where he used the press conference to defend his actions. Commenting on this, Andrew Como, New York State Governor, the state most affected by the Coronavirus, said he did not agree with Trump's interpretation of his powers.
"We have no king, we have an elected president” New York Governor said in an interview with CNN, and added: “the constitution clearly states that powers that are not specifically listed for the federal government are reserved to the states, and the boundaries between the federal and state powers are essential to the constitution - which is one of the great balances of power.”
On March 16, the US government announced stricter directives for its citizens for two weeks to slow the coronavirus spread. It has been extended until the end of this month. The recommendations from the White House include avoiding gatherings of more than 10 individuals, avoiding unnecessary travel, with the possibility of working and receiving education from home, and avoiding eating and drinking in bars and restaurants.
Meanwhile, Trump is setting up committees to get feedback from companies as he seeks to reopen the U.S. economy in the coming weeks.
As of Tuesday, the death toll in New York City had risen to 10,000 as city officials began to include those presumed to have died of COVID-19 in that number. The New York City Department of Health rated it a "potential" death from a coronavirus for victims who did not have a positive laboratory test for COVID-19, but their death certificate listed COVID-19 or its equivalent as the cause of death. With this classification, an additional 3778 people died as a result of COVID-19 in New York City, with 6,589 people as "confirmed" victims as of late Tuesday.