The Congresswoman’s Reaction to VP Pence Not Wearing a Mask During his Visit to the Mayo Clinic, “That Is a Total Lack of Leadership. I Am Dumbfounded, Speechless, That Someone Would Take That Kind of Risk!”
In an interview with Chris Ryan, Congresswoman Annie Kuster, the Representative from the New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District laid out her “Roadmap to Recovery”. This is a three-step program which the Congresswoman believes can safely reopen our economy. During the interview, Congresswoman Kuster also criticized the lack of leadership being provided by the Trump Administration in developing a Nationwide Testing Strategy. In addition, Kuster is introducing the Opportunity for Heroes Act which will give $25,000 in student loan debt forgiveness or education credits for frontline workers who have risked their lives during the pandemic.
The first step in Annie Kuster’s program for recovery is for a ramping up of access to testing for the COVID-19 virus. The Congresswoman pointed out that for people to feel safe enough to risk taking their family to a restaurant, to get their nails done, or to open their barber shop, there must be more testing available. Kuster also believes that when we look back on the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be determined that there was a lack of preparedness, foresight, and leadership by the Trump Administration.
Increased testing would be followed by the second step toward recovery, contact tracing of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. Public health officials would trace or find out which persons those infected individuals may have contacted.
Congresswoman Kuster’s third step to recovery is to isolate persons who have tested positive for COVID-19. If people are having difficulty isolating, her Partners in Health Plan would provide a place for people to separate safely without threatening the health of their family members.
The Congresswoman discussed what life would be like when the economy reopens. Many of the precautions like social distancing and masks would probably still be in effect.
When she was asked about the possibility of legislation to protect businesses from being sued by patrons who claim that their barber or manicurist gave them the virus by being within the six-foot limit. She would only provide a “safe harbor” for businesses if strict guidelines were in place which would ensure that businesses were doing all the necessary steps to protect their employees and their customers. As an example, the Congresswoman cited the recent problems in meatpacking plants in Iowa where the company was claiming that the workers contracted COVID-19 at home and not at work.
Congresswoman Kuster also suggested that businesses may need to use screening tools to determine if workers or customers are coming down with the Coronavirus. This would involve taking temperatures or questioning whether they are developing any of the six symptoms which have been identified by the CDC-Center for Disease Control. She ended by stating that people will reenter the economy when they feel confident that it is safe to do so.
