Trump: 20 states in 'extremely good shape,' after coronavirus, some could reopen before May 1

President Trump said 20 states are in "extremely good shape" and some could reopen after the coronavirus shutdown "before the date of May 1."

"I will be speaking to all 50 governors very shortly," Trump said Tuesday in a White House coronavirus task force briefing. "And I will then be authorizing each individual governor of each individual state to implement a re-opening in a very powerful re-opening plan of their state at a time and in a manner as most appropriate." 

Trump's administration recommended "social distancing" measures through April 30 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, causing all 50 states to declare statewide emergencies, with many issuing mandatory "shelter in place" orders.

"The day will be very close, because certain states, as you know, are in much different condition and in a much different place than other states," Trump said. "It's going to be very very close, maybe even before the date of May 1. So that will be for some states. Actually, there are over 20 that are in extremely good shape, and we think we're going to be able to get them open fairly quickly. And then others will follow. The federal government will be watching them very closely."

Trump on Tuesday in the White House's Rose Garden listed members of what the White House called "Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups," including leaders from finance, banking, hedge funds, health care, think tanks and economics. Trump listed economist Art Laffer as a member of the "Thought Leaders" revival group. 

Laffer said in a recent interview with Just the News that the government's widespread shutdown of society to slow the spread of coronavirus was medically necessary and fit within "reasonable limits," but reopening the economy should be based on calculated, fact-based risk rather than irrational, widespread fear. Laffer, a former advisor to former President Ronald Reagan, said he personally, at age 79, was "willing to accept the higher risk" of dying from coronavirus to open economy.