Coronavirus Updates: Gov. Walz Partners With 6 Governors In Midwest To Decide When To Reopen Economy
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Tim Walz has joined a partnership of seven governors in the midwest to work together on deciding when to reopen the economy.
Governors Gretchen Whitmer (MI), Mike DeWine (OH), Tony Evers (WI), Tim Walz (MN), JB Pritzker (IL), Eric Holcomb (IN), and Andy Beshear (KY) say they plan to work in close coordination with one another.
A joint statement reads:
We are doing everything we can to protect the people of our states and slow the spread of COVID-19, and we are eager to work together to mitigate the economic crisis this virus has caused in our region. Here in the Midwest, we are bound by our commitment to our people and the community. We recognize that our economies are all reliant on each other, and we must work together to safely reopen them so hardworking people can get back to work and businesses can get back on their feet.
Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky will work in close coordination to reopen our economies in a way that prioritizes our workers' health. We look forward to working with experts and taking a fact-based, data-driven approach to reopening our economy in a way that protect families from the spread of COVID-19.
Our number one priority when analyzing when best to reopen our economy is the health and safety of our citizens. We will make decisions based on facts, science, and recommendations from experts in health care, business, labor, and education.
In particular, the decision to reopen the economy will rely heavily on four main factors:
- Control of the rate of new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations
- The ability to test and trace the disease
- Health care capacity to handle potential resurgence
- Social distancing in the workplace.
The governors added:
Phasing in sectors of our economy will be most effective when we work together as a region. This doesn't mean our economy will reopen all at once, or that every state will take the same steps at the same time. But close coordination will ensure we get this right. Over time, people will go back to work, restaurants will reopen, and things will go back to normal. We look forward to working together as one region to tackle this challenge together.
The move is similar to what is being done on the east coast, where leaders in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island have joined together to create a "council to get people back to work and restore the economy."
Their council -- made up of each state's chief of staff, one health expert and one economic development expert -- says it will develop a regional framework to "gradually lift the states' stay-at-home orders while minimizing the risk of spreading COVID-19."
At least one of the coalition states -- Wisconsin -- is putting off any wide scale re-opening until the end of May. Gov. Tony Evers issued a proclamation extending his safer-at-home order through May 26. He also announced Wisconsin schools will not reopen this year.
Walz was not on the 2 p.m. conference call because he was on another conference call with President Trump. He, last week, extended his stay-at-home order through May 4.
