Mnuchin warns of ‘permanent economic damage’ unless US reopens

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned of “permanent economic damage” unless the United States begins reopening businesses during the coronavirus pandemic — but cautioned that it must be done in a “thoughtful way.”

“I think there’s a considerable risk of not reopening, you’re talking about what would be permanent economic damage to the American public,” Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“We’re going to reopen in a very thoughtful way that gets people back to work safely, that has them social distance,” he continued.

The question of reopening the economy comes as 20.5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in April, bringing the unemployment rate up to 14.7 percent.

In all, more than 33 million people have sought benefits in the past three months.

“These are not large numbers because the economy isn’t doing well, these are large numbers because we’ve shut down the economy,” Mnuchin told host Chris Wallace.