Surgeon General: Some Places May Be Ready to Reopen on May 1

In this March 5, 2020, file photo, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, right, arrives to do an on camera interview outside the West Wing on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington. Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

Some places may be able to reopen at the beginning of May while others should remain under virtual lockdown, Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on April 10.

Asked whether reopening on May 1 was realistic, Adams said “some places” might be able to do so.

“There are places around the country that have seen consistently low levels and as we ramp up testing and can feel more confident that these places actually can do surveillance and can do public health follow-up, some places will be able to think about opening on May 1,” Adams said.

“Most of the country will not, to be honest with you, but some will. That’s how we’ll reopen the country: place by place, bit by bit, based on the data.”

The surgeon general, America’s top public health official, was speaking during an appearance on Fox News.

"For Sale By Owner" and "Closed Due to Virus" signs are displayed in the window of Images On Mack in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., on April 2, 2020. Paul Sancya/AP Photo

President Donald Trump is pushing to re-open parts of the country, noting that some areas and entire states have seen few cases of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday there are a number of areas with low case counts where action could be taken while Larry Kudlow, another top White House economic official, said this week that the Trump administration wants to open the economy in the next four to eight weeks.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force along with Adams, expressed caution about opening up during an appearance on CNN on Friday.

“We would want to see a clear indication that you were very, very clearly and strongly going in the right direction. Because the one thing you don’t want to do is you don’t want to get out there prematurely and you wind up back in the same situation,” he said.

Most states in America are under lockdown, with little domestic travel and Americans largely staying at home. Millions of workers have lost their jobs as governors forced businesses deemed non-essential to shut down indefinitely.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks to the press at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York on March 27, 2020. Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, leader of the hardest-hit state in the nation, said Friday that re-opening parts of the country would require a boost in testing capacity, with a focus on antibody tests.

Those tests determine if people were infected with the CCP virus in the past. A significant number of patients are now estimated to never show symptoms, or show mild symptoms.

Letting people who were sick and are now believed to be immune return to work would be part of the first stage of reopening, Cuomo said.

He added that for now, New Yorkers should stay at home and abide by his executive order restricting movement.