Some haven’t pushed for stay home restrictions and some have…
But it appears that some Red states testing numbers are rising, which would caution any relaxation of virus restrictions….
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who presides over a state Trump won with more than 68 percent of the vote, on Monday ordered residents to stay home after the confirmation of the first case of community transmission, in a nursing home. Justice ordered the state’s National Guard to test everyone at the facility in a bid to control further transmission.
Such moves are more than a display of independence. Governors traditionally have the final say in public health crises and can declare emergencies to speed a response. New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo twice in the last decade temporarily suspended state laws and regulations to administer shots to children during season flu outbreaks. Pennsylvania Democrat Tom Wolf used similar powers to respond to the opioid crisis in his state in 2018.
In the case of coronavirus, Trump’s optimistic statements have been at odds with the assessments of top scientists and doctors, as well as administration officials such as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who’ve predicted a formidable battle that could last into the summer.
Officials from the World Health Organization warned Tuesday that the United States has the potential to become the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic based on the rapid uptick in confirmed cases.
Trump during a Tuesday evening appearance with members of his coronavirus task force suggested that social distancing may still apply to the hardest hit areas like New York state, which has reported over 30,000 cases as of Wednesday.
He said he will decide whether to extend nonbinding federal social distancing guidelines next Monday, 15 days after his administration first made the recommendations.
But Trump’s suggestions that the nationwide fight may already be winding down were at odds with efforts in some Republican-led states that seem to be just starting to ramp up their mitigation strategies, with more lockdowns and stay-at-home orders on the way….
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Officials in some outlying areas with comparatively few cases appear content to take a wait-and-see approach. South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem on Tuesday said that, based on models, her state doesn’t expect to reach peak infection rate for at least another eight weeks. She hasn’t ordered a statewide lockdown but has restricted business and hospital operations.