Northeastern states form council for reopening economies amid coronavirus

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that his state, along with the governors of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware, will form a regional task force to guide the easing of coronavirus restrictions. Massachusetts joined the group later on Monday as well.

Why it matters: Widespread shutdowns of nonessential businesses have caused significant economic damage not just in New York, an epicenter of the crisis in the U.S., but also in the surrounding states that rely on New York City as a business hub.

• Governors will name a public health official, an economic official and their respective chief of staff to the task force, which will look to provide recommendations in a matter of weeks.

The big picture: California, Oregon and Washington announced a similar plan to move jointly toward reopening their economies on Monday. It comes as President Trump insisted on Twitter Monday that he, not governors, has the authority to reopen state economies.

What they're saying: "We should start looking forward to reopening, but reopening with a plan and a smart plan, because if you do it wrong, it can backfire," Cuomo said at a press conference Monday.

• "Our economies are connected," said Delaware Gov. John Carney. "Our states are connected in a real way, in terms of transportation and visitation and the rest. And so our working together, sharing our information and intelligence, I think will help each of us to make better decisions,"

• "We have not yet plateaued. We're a couple of beats behind New York. Our positive tests have begun to flatten, but we're not yet there," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said.
• But Murphy added: "An economic recovery only occurs on the back of a complete health care recovery, and that order is essential and getting that wrong ... could have inadvertent unintended consequences which could be grave."