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Senator Marco Rubio wants a bipartisan approach to re-opening Florida’s economy. 

The Republican Senator from South Florida made the call today with two Democratc state lawmakers, State Representative Shevrin Jones and State Senator Oscar Braynon. Rubio says he’s not sure when stay-at-home orders should be lifted, but these decisions should be made soon. 

“You cannot keep the country and our community in this situation for 18 months, twelve months. I don’t even know if you can keep it for six months.”

Rubio says the state should be prepared to manage rather than eliminate the risk from coronavirus. 

He says reopening the state depends on  factors like the availability of rapid coronavirus testing, hospital capacity, and the timeline for vaccine development. 

Across the aisle, Braynon agreed. 

He said keeping businesses closed is not a viable solution for working class families who live paycheck to paycheck.

“There are some people that are just like, ‘Look, I don’t have the money to buy the groceries if I’m not at work’.”

Like Rubio, Braynon says he’s not sure when businesses should be allowed to reopen. 

He says the decision needs to balance economic well-being with the personal health of essential workers who have already been hard-hit by the pandemic.

The most common question I hear is when will we know it’s ok to restart the economy & get back to normal.

The answer depends on what our expectations are. pic.twitter.com/aERW6mQxdD

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 15, 2020

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