Complete Story
04/17/2020
Regional Coalition Formed to Reopen the Economy
Source: The Offices of Mike DeWine, Andy Beshear and Gretchen Whitmer, April 16-17, 2020
A seven-state Midwest coalition has been created to closely coordinate the reopening of the regional economy when the threat of COVID-19 subsides. The states included in this coalition are Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. They will be discussing best practices in an effort to avoid a spike of cases later; however, the ultimate decision will be with each state.
The governors said, “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."
These states will all work together regionally to share intelligence and make informed decisions. The states will review four factors as they reopen their economies: the number of cases in the state and the number of hospital admissions, the amount of hospital capacity, the ability to test and trace cases of COVID-19, and best practices for social distancing in businesses.
The number one priority when deciding when it’s best to reopen the economies will be based on the health and safety of the citizens.
“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.”
