‘Just Say No’: AOC Calls for National Work Boycott in the US Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic

The lawmaker’s initiative comes following a series of tweets by US President Donald Trump regarding re-igniting the economy and the “liberation” of states that have seen some protest against social distancing and the coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

US Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is urging American citizens to boycott going back to work amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States.

In a new show on Vice TV called "A Seat at the Table" that premiered on Wednesday night, the lawmaker says people across the US should “refuse to go back to work” as the president calls for some US states, including Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia  to be “liberated” from coronavirus lockdowns.

“When we talk about this idea of reopening society you know, only in America does the president — when the president tweets about liberation — does he mean go back to work. When we have this discussion about going back or reopening, I think a lot people should just say no — we’re not going back to that", Ocasio-Cortez told the host of the TV show.

The Democrat suggested instead that employees not accept going back to working 70 hour weeks “just so that we can put food on the table and not even feel any sort of semblance of security in our lives”.

Last week, several US states witnessed a handful of demonstrations against lockdown measures imposed by state governments to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the numbers of protesters were relatively small, they were acknowledged to largely be vocal Trump supporters whose actions were supported by the US president.