Arizona congressman calls on the country to quickly restart the economy

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs called for the country to quickly reopen the economy that has been hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.

This comes after the grim economic news that 17 million workers across the country, including 350,000 in Arizona, have lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Tweeting yesterday, Biggs wrote, "We can't afford to wait two more weeks to reopen the American economy."

Biggs is one of a growing number of Republicans in the nation's Capitol demanding an economic reboot, despite warnings that doing so right now carries big risks.

"We may actually get into a worse situation where we have to stop again and go back into quarantine," said Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Phoenix.

A second economic stoppage, Gallego said, could cause more economic damage than the first one.

As for the timeline in Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey, a former small business owner, said he wants businesses back up and running as soon as possible. He added that public health will drive his decisions and that he doesn't want to be rushed. His stay-at-home order remains in effect until the end of month.

Political pressure is building as President Donald Trump has said he wants to reopen by May 1. Trump said he will let the nation's governors make the calls, but plans to issue guidance on how to restart the economy Thursday, April 16.