US Can Continue Workplace Reopenings Safely Despite Rise in CCP Virus Cases: Labor Secretary

Eugene Scalia attends his confirmation hearing to become the next Labor Secretary in front of the the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in Washington on Sept. 19, 2019. Astrid Riecken/Getty Images

Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said on Sunday that the United States can move forward in workplaces reopening despite more new COVID-19 cases being reported.

“Yes, we have new cases, we have to keep an eye on that,” he said during an interview with Fox News. “I believe that we can continue to reopen our workplaces safely. Our workplaces can be very safe places to be.”

“We can reopen while the virus is still there,” he added.

Scalia said he’s optimistic about the reopenings because of the job report.

U.S. unemployment rate fell to 11.1 percent as the economy added a record 4.8 million jobs in June, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Meanwhile, more stimulus measures are needed to keep the economy on track.

More discussion will happen toward the end of July about a phase four stimulus package that is supported by the president.

The president also wants a payroll tax cut, he said.

A customer walks out of a U.S. Post Office branch and under a banner advertising a job opening, in Seattle, Wash., on June 4, 2020. Elaine Thompson/AP Photo

According to governmental data collected by Our World in Data, the new deaths from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus in America have passed the peak and show a clear downtrend, though new cases have grown slowly in recent weeks.

The Trump administration attributed the increase in new cases to increased testing.

“New China Virus Cases up (because of massive testing), deaths are down, ‘low and steady,’” Trump wrote in a Twitter post on Monday.

The labor secretary suggested that the rise in new cases could also partly caused by reopenings, but that the administration is in better shape to handle it now than a few months ago.

“We knew that as people came out of their homes, emerged from their basements and alike, we knew that cases would go up,” he said. “[but] we are far, far better prepared to deal with those cases now ... We have the equipment, the hospital beds now to deal with the situation. So this is something that we can manage.”

However, he emphasized individual responsibility and precautions underscored by President Donald Trump and Vice President Michael Pence.

“It will get more challenging if people don’t take that seriously,” he said.