States form regional teams to coordinate coronavirus restriction rollbacks

Governors of states in regional clusters on Monday announced they're teaming up to form coordinated plans to eventually reopen their economies and slowly roll back coronavirus restrictions, hoping to avoid new spikes of infections as lockdowns ease. New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Rhode Island are all forming one regional council, while California, Washington, and Oregon are forming another. The regional teamwork comes as the White House has announced its new council to stimulate the federal economy and reopen businesses, which President Trump has indicated he is hoping to do as soon as possible, despite health experts saying the rollback should not be rushed to prevent a new uptick in COVID-19 cases.