Washington, D.C. — In recent weeks, the coronavirus crisis has upended American life—leading to school and office closures, skyrocketing unemployment, and the adoption of new hygiene and social-distancing efforts intended to slow the virus’s spread. Today, following weeks of dithering leadership from the federal government, the Center for American Progress released a comprehensive, evidence-based plan to help the United States overcome the public health and economic threats posed by the coronavirus.
The plan identifies six key steps the federal government—or, if the government fails to act, mayors and governors to the extent possible—should take to suppress transmission and prevent an endless cycle of infection waves and economic depression. The six steps include:
- Establish enforceable national and state stay-at-home policies that are in place at minimum 45 days starting Sunday, April 5, 2020
- Ramp up testing and production of personal protective equipment
- Provide for instantaneous contact tracing and isolation
- Prohibit nonessential travel and protect front-line workers
- Issue guidelines for the use of face masks
- Targeted, gradual, and conditioned lifting of restrictions
“The Trump administration wasted precious weeks in failing to develop adequate tests that would allow our country to contain the coronavirus; it also sent mixed messages, telling Americans the virus was not a real threat, and all of these failures have contributed to the United States having more confirmed cases than any country in the world. It is essential that the administration do what it has thus far failed to: develop and implement a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy to limit the spread of the virus and eventually beat it back, while saving as many lives as possible. Our proposal does exactly that, and only after implementing these comprehensive steps can America seriously consider returning to normal,” said Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress.
Please click here to read “A National and State Plan to End the Coronavirus Crisis” by Zeke Emanuel, Neera Tanden, Topher Spiro, Adam Conner, Kevin DeGood, Erin Simpson, and Nicole Rapfogel.
To find the latest CAP resources on the coronavirus, please visit our coronavirus resource page.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Colin Seeberger at [email protected] or 202.741.6292.