(CNBC) — New York, New Jersey and four other Northeastern states are forming a working group to keep a close watch on the coronavirus outbreak throughout the region and coordinate plans to reopen parts of the economy as soon as it’s safe to do so.
Calling the region the “Covid corridor,” the governors said they would carefully weigh the public health risks before allowing companies to resume operations. Commerce throughout the region and much of the U.S. has ground to a halt after states shuttered nonessential businesses and issued orders requiring most residents to stay indoors to slow the pandemic.
“I think this regional compact is premised on the idea that you’re not going to have a healthy economy if you have an unhealthy population, so we’ve got to do both,” Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said on a conference call led by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday.
