Ten US states have today begun lifting restrictions imposed to limit Covid-19.
After weeks of shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, the nation has begun to slowly open up. Beaches and state parks are reopening to visitors, spurring concerns about overcrowding. The first barbers have returned to work, masks over their faces. Some restaurants are getting ready to serve customers again.
Texas is among them, and will allow restaurants, cinemas and other businesses to reopen – if they limit capacity to 25%. Alabama, Maine and Tennessee are also allowing stay-at-home orders to expire.
Others face a longer timetable. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo has said some parts of the state might be able to gradually reopen businesses on 15 May, while Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont hopes to reopen some businesses and outdoor recreation facilities by 20 May.
Michigan’s stay-at-home mandate has been extended to 15 May and on Thursday hundreds of protesters, a few of them armed, gathered at the state capitol building in Lansing.
By Friday, more than a dozen states will have begun to reopen their economies and public life, even though health experts have expressed concern that a premature opening could lead to a spike in coronavirus infections that would not be detected in official case counts for weeks.
Source: BBC.com
