'19, 20 States' Could Be Ready to Reopen May 1

If you're living in one of 19 or 20 states, good news: CDC Director Robert Redfield thinks you may be ready to reopen by May 1. The less great news: He didn't name which ones during his interview on Good Morning America. Reuters reports Redfield explained that we've seen a number of counties that have been tested for COVID-19 but have "not experienced really any" of it. "There are a number of states—19, 20 states—that really have had limited impact from it. So I think we will see some states that are, the governors feel that they're ready, we're poised to assist them with that reopening."

But a second wave of closures is certainly possible, he added: "I think we have to assume this is like other respiratory viruses and there will be a seasonality to it ... and we're going to have another battle with it upfront and aggressively next winter." As for President Trump's Tuesday announcement that the US would stop funding the World Health Organization, Redfield expressed that the CDC still maintains the "productive public health relationship" it has long enjoyed with the WHO. When asked by George Stephanopoulos whether the WHO mishandled the pandemic, Redfield offered this, per the Hill: "I'd like to do the post-mortem on this outbreak once we get through it together." (More CDC stories.)