Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg warns against reopening public spaces too soon

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has warned on Wednesday that reopening public spaces too soon “almost guarantees” continued coronavirus outbreaks and economic fallout, striking a sharp contrast with tech billionaires such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

“While there are massive societal costs from the current shelter-in-place restrictions, I worry that reopening certain places too quickly before inaction rates have been reduced to very minimal levels will almost guarantee future outbreaks and worsen longer-term health and economic outcomes,” Zuckerberg stated on the company’s first quarter earnings call.

“The impact on our business has been significant, and I remain very concerned that this health emergency and therefore the economic fallout will last longer than people are currently anticipating,”

Zuckerberg’s remarks come as some states in the U.S. are considering whether to reopen businesses that the coronavirus pandemic forced shut.

A day earlier, Musk compared state stay-at-home orders to “de facto house arrest” and called policy makers to “FREE AMERICA NOW.”