FILE – In this April 13, 2020 file photo, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives a daily state update on the coronavirus outbreak in Chicago. (Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP File)

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Seven Midwestern governors announced Thursday that they will coordinate on reopening their state economies, after similar pacts were made earlier this week in the Northeast and on the West Coast.

Thursday’s announcement covers Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

The governors say they will work with experts and take a “fact-based, data-driven approach to reopening our economy in a way that protects families from the spread of COVID-19.”

All together, the 17 states covered by the three pacts are home to nearly half of the country’s population.