Donald Trump claims he has "total authority" to decide how and when to re-open the American economy after weeks of tough lockdown measures aimed at fighting the new coronavirus.

But Republican and Democrat governors have claimed they have the primary constitutional responsibility for ensuring public safety in their states and would decide when it is safe to begin a return to normal life.

Democratic leaders in the Northeast and along the West Coast announced separate state plans to co-ordinate their efforts to scale back stay-at-home orders or re-open businesses on their own timetables, even as Mr Trump tried to say that it was his call.

"When somebody is president of the United States, the authority is total," Mr Trump said at Monday's confrontational White House coronavirus briefing. "The governors know that."

Anxious to put the twin public health and economic crises behind him, Mr Trump has backed federal social distancing recommendations that expire at the end of the month. But it has been governors and local leaders who have instituted mandatory restrictions, including shuttering schools and closing non-essential businesses.