A GOP senator calls on Trump to reopen parts of the coronavirus-stricken economy because 'death is an unavoidable part of life'

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Sen. Ron Johnson

• Sen. Ron Johnson called on Trump to reopen segments of the US economy, saying "death is an unavoidable part of life" in a USA Today op-ed.
• The Wisconsin senator drew a connection between last year's "exceptionally bad flu season" and warned against overreaction.
• Trump has extended social distancing guidelines, which have shut down vast sectors of the American economy, until April 30.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called on President Trump to reopen parts of the American economy to avoid throwing it into a recession or depression. He said "death is an unavoidable part of life" in a USA Today op-ed published Monday.

Though Johnson didn't advocate to fully start up the economy, he said the crisis should be put into perspective

"What more people are saying is that as we learn more about COVID-19, we should evaluate the total societal cost of this awful disease and try to put things into perspective," Johnson said.

The Wisconsin senator drew a parallel between the tens of thousands of Americans who die from suicide and the opioid overdose each year, noting "that level of individual despair has occurred in a strong economy."

Johnson - who sits on the Commerce and Homeland Security committees - also made a comparison to last year's "exceptionally bad flu season" and warned against overreaction.

"Every premature death is a tragedy, but death is an unavoidable part of life," he said.

Johnson outlined an idea to flip the current federal guidelines on their head when it came to businesses.

"Rather than announcing general shutdowns and drawing up lists of 'essential' business that can remain open, let's draw up lists of 'nonessential' businesses that pose a risk for coronavirus spread," he said.

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The continued spread of the virus has shut down swaths of the American economy and put it on course for a recession, experts say. That led Trump to sign a $2 trillion economic stimulus package aimed at extending emergency federal aid to individuals and businesses alike on Friday.

Johnson's op-ed came after Trump weighed last week whether to reopen the economy by Easter on April 12. It would have been roughly three weeks after the administration put federal guidelines in place urging Americans to avoid nonessential travel, eating out at restaurants, and gathering in groups larger than 10.

But the US now has over 143,000 recorded coronavirus cases, the most in the world. Infectious disease experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci said that over 100,000 Americans could die in the pandemic, even with aggressive action to slow its spread.

On Sunday evening, Trump extended the social distancing guidelines until April 30.

"Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won," he said at a White House press conference. "The better you do, the faster this whole nightmare will end."

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