Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama, acknowledged policymakers on both the federal and state levels need to put a focus on getting the country back to work.

During an interview with “The Jeff Poor Show” on Huntsville, AL radio’s WVNN, Sessions warned of the dangers of continuing with the status quo of a shutdown. However, he also said the reopening might come with some requirements to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“I would just simply say this: We do need to get back to work,” Sessions said. “This is a really important matter. The longer we have millions of people unemployed, the harder it is going to be to bounce back. Some of the companies that we know are operating today — some of the restaurants and maybe hotels that are at 10% occupancy — maybe they won’t reopen.”

“It’s going to be a new world out there,” he continued. “It’s not going to be like it used to be three months from now. But the sooner we can get people back to work, it’s going to be the right thing. I think people are going to be more careful than they were. I think they’ll be far more willing to wear masks and take other actions to keep social distance, even at the job site. I think maybe we can do that without much increase of infection. Hopefully, we’ll have better treatment for people who do get infected, and they’ll recover quicker. There are some things happening out there about that.”

Sessions also discussed ways construction could proceed with minimal risk, which he said suggest “a blanket government rule” was unnecessary.

“I think we’ve got to get away from these blanket rules and get back to doing what’s reasonable and what we can do to be successful,” he added.

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