Many governors across the U.S. are disregarding or creatively interpreting White House guidelines in easing their states’ lockdowns and letting businesses reopen, an Associated Press analysis found.

The AP determined that 17 states do not appear to meet one of the key benchmarks set by the White House for loosening up — a 14-day downward trajectory in new cases or infection rates. And yet many of those have begun to reopen or are about to do so, including Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.

Because of the broad way in which the nonbinding guidelines are written, other states, including Georgia, have technically managed to meet the criteria and reopen despite not seeing a steady decline in cases and deaths.

Asked at the White House on Thursday about states that are reopening without meeting some of the federal government’s benchmarks, President Donald Trump said: “The governors have great power as to that, given by us. We want them to do that. We rely on them. We trust them. And hopefully they are making the right decisions.”

The push to reopen across the country comes amid pressure from businesses that are collapsing by the day and workers who have been thrown out of a job. Over 33 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits over the past seven weeks, and a report today is expected to show U.S. unemployment as high as 16%, a level not seen since the Depression.

The reopening debate in the U.S. echoes that underway in Europe, where regional and political rifts are emerging over how fast to lift the lid on the lockdowns.

Public health experts around the world have cautioned that reopening too soon, without widespread testing and tracing, could enable the virus to come surging back with tragic consequences.

The U.S. has recorded over 74,000 deaths and 1.2 million confirmed infections. But this week, University of Washington researchers nearly doubled their projection of deaths in the U.S. to about 134,000 through early August, largely to reflect the loosenings of stay-at-home restrictions.

When Trump announced the guidelines April 16, he declared a “new front in our war” and said he was “establishing clear scientific metrics and benchmarks on testing, new case growth and hospital capacity that must be met before advancing each phase.”

Since then, many states have reopened while daily cases and infection rates have either plateaued or continued to climb, the AP analysis found. Some states are going it alone, using their own criteria, not the White House’s.

The White House has not been specific about how states should calculate the 14-day downward trajectory. Depending on how you calculate it, a state might pass or fail. The AP analyzed counts of tests and confirmed cases compiled by Johns Hopkins University and looked at the numbers using a rolling seven-day average to account for day-to-day variability in test reporting.

Georgia has embarked on the most aggressive reopening schedule in the country. It has met one of the White House criteria by recording a decrease in the rate of positive test results, but it has seen nearly 600 more deaths and a hot spot in a poultry-processing area since Gov. Brian Kemp moved to ease business restrictions.

Among other things the White House guidelines say that before reopening, states should have a downward trend in flu and COVID-19-like illnesses for 14 days; hospitals should be able to treat all patients without crisis care; and robust testing should be in place for at-risk health workers.

But there are few specifics, and the plan says local officials “may need to tailor the application of these criteria to local circumstances.”

Of the 33 states that have had a 14-day downward trajectory of either cases or positivity rates, 25 are partially opened or moving to reopen within days, the AP analysis finds.