Credit: Gov. Whitmer of Michigan/State of Michigan
So far, President Donald Trump’s plan to reopen the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic has included forming an advisory team that includes his daughter and son-in-law (naturally) and, umm, WWE’s Vince McMahon. And while many business leaders and experts think Trump’s stated goal of opening the economy back up on May 1 is impossible without mass testing, governors have taken it upon themselves to come up with their own plans.

Here in the Midwest, a group of governors announced on Thursday a coordinated regional effort, which includes Mike DeWine, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Tim Walz of Minnesota, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Eric Holcomb of Indiana, and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.

In a press release, the governors declined to set a timeline to reopen the economy, but said a decision would be made that “that prioritizes our workers’ health” and that sectors would likely return in phases instead of reopening all at once.

“Our number one priority when analyzing when best to reopen our economy is the health and safety of our citizens,” the governors said in a statement. “We will make decisions based on facts, science, and recommendations from experts in health care, business, labor, and education.”

Gov. DeWine said today that the state of Ohio will slowly reopen starting May 1 but offered no concrete details. It is bound to be a slow and deliberate process, but welcome nonetheless.

His office also this morning clarified in a comment to Cleveland.com that the group is collaborating but that “no formal compact has been agreed to at this time.”

The governors said that though the effort will be coordinated, that doesn’t mean the states will take the same steps at the same time. Factors include stabilizing the rate of new infections and hospitalizations, an enhanced ability to test and trace the virus, capacity to handle another potential outbreak, and implementing best practices for social distancing in the workplace.

“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,” the statement said. “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.”

This article appears in Apr 15-21, 2020.

Leyland "Lee" DeVito grew up in the suburbs of Detroit where he read Metro Times religiously due to teenaged-induced boredom. He became a contributing writer for Metro Times in 2009. In addition to writing, he supplies occasional illustrations as well.

7 replies on “Midwest Governors, Including DeWine, Will Coordinate on Regional Efforts to Reopen Economies”

  1. That coalition should stay a coalition until 2021. And if the Orange Plague is still in office, those states should secede and petition to join Canada. I’d rather pledge allegiance to Liz Windsor than a wanna be king and Mafia crime boss.

  2. COVID-19 is also a way to separate old fashioned Republican public servants from Trump fanatics. Apparently the governors of Indiana and Ohio still believe in doing their jobs. That’s refreshing, especially after all those jokes about us being the Mississippis of the Midwest.

  3. Great, dewine has joined forces with the Michigan crazy woman who blocked any other treatments besides vaccines and is also being sued by citizens of her state.

  4. Good, let’s get moving you lazy lumps.

    There’s a world leading free market Economy to rebuild.

  5. Dumb sheeple…they’re all are sitting in their basements and spamming webites 24/7 about vaccines that don’t exist, when they’re not going outside to protest about being kept in the house and not being allowed out to get sick and die to make the rich even richer.

    They march around and wave guns and say they want their freedom and liberty. Freedom? Liberty My cats have more freedom and liberty than these enslaved morons think they’re being deprived of. Also more brains.

    But don’t ever tell them they aren’t free…they’ll beat you to death orblow your head off, in order to prove to you that they’re intelligent and patriotic and free. Go back to work and die, you dumb a-holes…thin out the ranks and make America smart again.

  6. Hey Maple Leaf, remember this from 2016 ? “If Twump gets ewected, I’m moving to Canada…” Well, he got elected….so what stopped ya ? You were and are free to go, anytime you wish, go enjoy Toronto

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