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President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is planning a Thursday announcement on guidelines for states to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, citing progress on fighting the outbreak.
“The data suggests that nationwide we have passed the peak on new cases,” Trump said at the White House. “Hopefully that will continue.”
Trump has been eager to reopen the country but has clashed with governors, who have begun to study how and when to open shuttered schools, businesses and other institutions.
Legal experts have underscored that things like stay-at-home orders are up to individual states, not the federal government. Vice President Mike Pence said the guidelines will be presented to governors.
Speaking at the same White House event, Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the administration’s coronavirus task force, said she has seen a decline in cases over the last five to six days, but that fatalities continue.
Coronavirus update:2.02 million cases worldwide, 130,528 deaths; Trump move to defund WHO draws rebuke.
