WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The economic shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic is costing the U.S. perhaps $25 billion a day in lost output and cannot be sustained indefinitely, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said in saying the country needs widespread testing and risk management strategies so the economy can reopen.
Restarting the economy would not be done by a “pronouncement” of any politician but as households and firms find ways to resume daily life “knowing this disease is out there,” Bullard said. Widespread testing or other ways to mitigate risk, even business by business or school by school, would be key, he said.
(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
