Georgia’s newest U.S. senator said she’s optimistic life and business will return to normal soon across the country.

Kelly Loeffler, appointed to fill the unexpired term of Johnny Isakson in December, also said she is encouraged President Donald Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp are working to bring people back to work safely.

“It’s a delicate balance between bringing people back safely but making sure we bring them back soon enough to save millions of small businesses,” she said.

Loeffler was CEO of Bakkt and co-owner of WNBA’s Atlanta Dream before Kemp appointed her to the Senate. She also has been appointed to the presidential task force to reopen the American economy.

“I’m really honored to serve on the task force,” she said Friday. “I believe the president appointed me to it because he recognizes I am bringing over two and a half decades of experience in the private sector.”

President Trump unveiled a three-phase approach to easing the lockdown that much of the nation has been under for several weeks because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The first phase asks for people to continue to work from home, continue social distancing and limit exposure to groups of 10 or more people. 

Once there has been a 14-day downward trend of new cases, the next phase can be reached. That stage calls for gatherings of no more than 50 people and the reopening of schools and organized youth activities. However, those deemed vulnerable will be urged to continue to shelter in place.

After another 14-day downward trend in cases, areas can enter the third phase, which allows for all businesses to resume. Vulnerable individuals still will be encouraged to maintain social distancing, and large venues can operate under limited physical distancing protocols.

“I really applaud the data-driven approach the president is taking,” Loeffler said. “I think that’s the way to build to confidence in this plan to return and resume our normal, everyday activities in a gradual and very phased approach.”

Loeffler said the key metrics are seeing what the coronavirus numbers show and if the curve is being flattened and decreased.

She also said all involved want widespread testing. The problem is, the senator pointed out, China “is needlessly holding up the shipping of those tests.

“We have to address that and let them know that is not acceptable,” she said.

The government also is looking at multiple ways of testing. The tests, Loeffler said, have multiple components, from the machines that conduct the testing itself to the reagents and to the supply chain that brings it all together.

“There has been a great partnership with the private sector, working with the president, the FDA, all the health administrators to make sure we are getting the red tape out of the way and speeding these tests to market,” she said.

Loeffler also said the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program needs to be propped up. The program, which had $349 billion, was drained in 13 days.

“Those funds went out the door at a rate of $3.5 billion per hour,” Loeffler said. “There are another million small businesses waiting in line to get that relief. We need to get politics out of the way and get that $250 billion authorized.”

In February, the nation’s unemployment rate stood at 3.5 percent, with 5.8 million people out of work. For March, that jobless rate jumped to 4.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and at the end of last week, 5.2 million people filed initial unemployment claims.

Loeffler said creating jobs and keeping the economic engine going is a “huge” priority for her.

“We were in the best economy we had ever seen in our lifetime,” she said. 

Loeffler also cautioned against the financial help packages taking on a long-lasting status.

“We have to make sure what we’re doing in the federal government with this relief doesn’t permanently expand the size of government,” she said. “We need to be careful that what we’re implementing now is relief and once it’s delivered and we get back to normal, we let the private sector take over. That’s where everything that happens that is good and sustainable and can lift many more people up than relying on government funding indefinitely.”

The senator said forecasts indicate the COVID-19 peak could hit in Georgia in the first week of May. The U.S., according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center, has more than 660,000 cases and has had nearly 29,000 deaths, more than any other nation. There also have been more than 3.4 million tests for the virus administered in the U.S.

But the data for the models is also dynamic, Loeffler said.

“That peak could still be a couple of weeks out,” she said.

Editor Pat Donahue can be reached at (229) 226-2400 ext. 1806.