Arizona Democrat Kelly sees positives in Trump’s plan to reopen economy

PHOENIX — U.S. Senate hopeful Mark Kelly sees positives in the phased plan President Donald Trump released Thursday for reopening the country’s economy during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Democrat told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Gaydos and Chad on Friday that Trump’s plan is measured and follows data.

Trump on Thursday called the 3-part plan “a phased and deliberate approach” to recovering from the economic pain of the pandemic.

“Well, I think there are some positive things there,” Kelly said. “Certainly an approach that’s gradual and based on real metrics is important.”

Kelly also praised the plan’s detail in recognizing the differing impact the virus has had on specific regions and even large metros areas throughout the country.

The new guidelines are aimed at easing restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while holding the line in harder-hit locations.

They make clear that the return to normalcy will be a far longer process than Trump initially envisioned, with federal officials warning that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through the end of the year to prevent a new outbreak.

“I think it’s good that it’s scaled according to region and intensity of infections in some regions,” Kelly said.

Kelly, who is running for Republican U.S. Sen. Martha McSally’s seat, also called the plan a “work in progress” and wanted to see it address a broader range of issues.

Among those are more widespread testing — especially for those who are asymptomatic — and a plan in case the virus were to return with a great intensity.

“If we’re really going to get our arms wrapped around this thing, we’ve really got to test,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to have a big plan to test asymptomatic people to completely stop the spread.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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