Factory workers began returning to Michigan assembly lines on Monday, paving the way for the reopening of the US auto sector. But fueling fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections as tight blockades are eased across the country.
With millions of unemployed Americans and much of the economy in virtual stalemate, an increasing number of states are easing the severe trade and social restrictions put in place to stem the tide Epidemic.
Some car suppliers from Michigan, an industrial power in the Midwest affected by the pandemic and its economic consequences, reopened their factories on Monday with skeleton crews to prepare for a resumption of vehicle production next week.
Skilled workers and employees have also started to return to auto assembly factories to prepare for a bigger restart.
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"We are starting our foundry this week in anticipation of orders arriving next week," said Joe Perkins, chief executive officer of Busche Performance Group, an engineering, molding and machining company, during the meeting. 39; a telephone interview.
Factory workers will be given face masks, have their fever checked, and asked to submit health assessment questionnaires.
"All of this is ready," said Perkins. "The big question is whether people will buy cars and trucks."
MUSK CHALLENGES THE LOCK
The reopening of manufacturing approved last week by Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been crucial not only for Michigan auto plants, but also for vehicle production elsewhere, as many key parts suppliers are located in central Detroit auto.
Detroit's three major automakers, General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, said last week that they planned to resume production at factories in North America on May 18. The target date was set after tacit approval from the powerful United Auto Workers, which previously opposed a restart in May as "too early and too risky".
Ford said it had adopted safety protocols from China, where car production resumed in late February, including personal protective clothing on assembly lines, barriers between grouped employees, and highly sanitized work areas . .
A lot is at stake. The automotive sector accounts for 6% of the economic output of EE. USA And it employs more than 835,000 Americans.
A small but prestigious sector of the American auto industry. USA It became a highlight in California on Monday when Elon Musk, general manager of electric car maker Tesla Inc., challenged local health officials and restarted his factory outside of San Francisco.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday approved the reopening of statewide manufacturing, but tougher Alameda County shutdown orders preventing plant operations for an additional week replace the authority. from Newsom.
Musk, who had threatened to move his plant to another state unless officials give in, said on Twitter that production resumed on Monday, adding that he would join workers on the assembly line.
"If someone is arrested, I ask that it be just me," he wrote.
United States DEATH TOLL CLIMB
Movements to loosen repression have developed even as the number of lives lost continues to increase. More than 80,000 people in the United States have died in the pandemic of more than 1.35 million known infections in the United States reported since January 20, according to a Reuters count.
Ohio, another industrial state and key player in the U.S. auto industry, reopened manufacturing last week and said most retail stores would be able to receive customers on Tuesday.
Even New York, the epicenter of the American crisis. In the United States, it has relaxed certain rules, allowing certain low-risk activities such as landscaping, tennis courts and cinemas to reopen this weekend in rural areas.
"We are taking the worst situation in the country and changing the course," said Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The pressure to relax trade restrictions has increased amid rapidly deteriorating economic prospects. The pandemic has left more Americans unemployed than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s, prompting Congress to approve billions of dollars in emergency aid.
MASKS IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Republican President Donald Trump, accused by Democrats of understating and mismanaging the epidemic, lobbied to quickly reopen the economy, considered key to his candidacy for re-election on November 3 .
In a tweet, Trump again accused the Democrats on Monday of taking his time to lift restrictions to embarrass him, an accusation they denied.
Public health experts have warned that going too fast to reopen, without widespread diagnostic tests and other established precautions, risks reactivating the resurgence of the virus. Polls show that most Americans are also concerned.
While allowing a return to manufacturing, Whitmer maintained an order requiring residents to stay largely indoors when they are not at work. "We must remember that staying at home … is the key to helping us reduce the risk of a second wave," said the Democratic Governor.
Meanwhile, the White House has ordered its staff to wear masks at all times in the building, except when they are at their own office, said a senior administration official. Trump's valet and spokesperson for Vice President Mike Pence tested positive for coronavirus last week.
The situation in the White House has had ramifications far beyond the national capital. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds was undergoing modified quarantine due to possible exposure to the coronavirus during a visit to the White House and meetings in Iowa with Pence last week.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker was working at home after a senior staff member tested positive last week. Pritzker tested negative on Sunday, according to his office.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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