White House issues guidelines for 'reopening' America

(NBC News) – New guidelines from the White House give states a framework to start reopening their economies.

In a draft shared with NBC News, areas with relatively few coronavirus cases are advised to start pulling back on social distancing after May 1st, despite President Trump saying some states could start before then.

Harder hit states are cautioned to wait another month or more.

New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his state will stay locked down until at least May 15th.

“No political decisions, no emotional decisions, data and science, we’re talking about human lives here,” Cuomo said.

New unemployment numbers underscore the urgency of getting people back to work. More than five million Americans filed new jobless claims last week, bringing the total to roughly 22 million in just one month.

Business leaders have told President Trump in a conference call they’re eager to get their employees back to work, but emphasized the need for much more widespread testing.

At the same time, the Small Business Administration now says the Paycheck Protection Program is out of money and can’t take any more applications.

Democrats have refused to approve more funding for small businesses without including money for hospitals and state and local governments.