Which US States are reopening after lockdowns?
Most US states are preparing to slowly reopen by the end of this week but others are deciding to extend their stay-at-home orders to prevent the virus from spreading.
Even though the United States has become the epicenter of the coronavirus around the world, the President Donald Trump has been pushing governors from the 50 states to slowly start reopening schools and the economy in mid-May.
By the end of this week 31 of the 50 states have decided to listen to the president and they will reopen various businesses in order to help Americans who lost their jobs in April due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas reopen the economy in the beginning of May
The Texas Gov. decided to reopen the state on 1 May as the number of coronavirus confirmed cases continue to increase, reaching more than one thousand new cases per day for each of the past three days.
Texas reported 1,293 new coronavirus cases last Saturday, the third consecutive day that metric topped 1,000 a level not seen in three weeks and in the same three-day period at least 115 coronavirus-related deaths were reported.
Texas is one of many areas where many residents are rejecting rules meant to protect workers at reopened businesses and ignoring social-distancing guidelines in outdoor areas. An example of this is that on 3 May a Texas park ranger was pushed into a lake while trying to enforce social distance regulations in the city of Austin.
Other states are planning to reopen in the next few days
The Gov. of California Gavin Newson extended the quarantine period until 15 May and at the end of April, he ordered beaches and parks to completely shut down due to the amount of people going out and not respecting the orders.
Also on 4 May Los Angeles School District announced that the school year will start on 18 August, but no decision has been made on whether campuses will reopen for in-person classes by that date, In addition summer school session will begin in mid-June online. The current school year, which has continued through ‘distancing teaching’ will end on 12 June in L.A. Unified.
In New York where stay-at-home restrictions have not been lifted cops were called to a New Rochelle Costco on Saturday after what one employee described as "chaos" broke out when the store was late to open.
New York and many other states saw weekend protests over business shutdown and stay-at-home orders. From Augusta, Maine, to Denver, Colorado, from Wichita, Kansas, to Wilmington, Delaware, in state capitals and small towns across the country, citizens gathered with signs demanding businesses be reopened and blasting local leaders for delays.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has extended the stay-at-home order until May 15 as many other states. People in that state have been protesting by singing “Amazing Grace” and holding hands because they want the quarantine period to end.
Florida decided that restaurants and retail shops can let customers inside in a reduced capacity as of 4 May, but this rule does not apply in South Florida, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-dade counties.
But some states are still not seeing a steady decrease in cases. In North Carolina, health officials reported a new single-day high Thursday and Gov. Roy Cooper said he remains "hopeful" the state will move to relax some restrictions soon.