NASHVILLE – Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee announced Saturday that he communicated with nearby states, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina, to strategize for a plan to have citizens returning to work safely.
“This afternoon, I spoke with fellow Southeastern governors about strategies to get our states safely back to work,” Lee Tweeted. “Grateful for their thoughts as we work to reboot the economy.”
This afternoon, I spoke with fellow Southeastern governors about strategies to get our states safely back to work. Grateful for their thoughts as we work to reboot the economy. @GovernorKayIvey @GovKemp @tatereeves @GovRonDeSantis @henrymcmaster
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) April 18, 2020
Lee’s discussions with other governors come on the heels of President Donald Trump outlining an Opening Up America Again plan.
“Based on the latest data, our team of experts now agrees that we can begin the next front in our war, which we are calling, Opening Up America Again – and that’s what we’re doing,” Trump said Thursday during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing. “We’re opening up our country, and we have to do that.
“America wants to be open and Americans want to be open. As I have said for some time now, a national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution.”
Trump also mentioned that citizens returning to work “is a gradual process” and that “governors will be empowered to tailor an approach that meets the diverse circumstances of their own states.”
“We are also encouraging states to work together to harmonize their regional efforts,” Trump said Thursday. “We’ll have numerous cases where states have worked and we’ll be working very closely together. As we reopen, we know that there will be continued hardships and challenges ahead.
“Our goal will be to quickly identify and address any outbreaks and put them out rapidly. If the virus returns in the fall as some scientists think it may, possibly, these guidelines will ensure that our country is up and running so that we can likewise put it out quickly.”