More states are moving to significantly reopen their economies and terminate their mask mandates despite pleas from top U.S. officials to tread carefully until more Americans are vaccinated against Covid-19.
On Tuesday, Maryland became the latest state to largely reopen its economy when Gov. Larry Hogan announced that restaurants, retailers and other businesses will be allowed to reopen without capacity restrictions beginning Friday.
Governors in Texas, Maryland, Mississippi, Connecticut, Arizona, West Virginia and Wyoming have announced similar plans in recent days as the pace of inoculations accelerates and Covid-19 cases and deaths recede.
Some states are taking easing restrictions more gradually. New Jersey and New York jointly announced Wednesday that restaurants in New York City will be allowed to reopen at half capacity, up from just 35%, beginning March 19.
California said it intends to reopen its illustrious theme parks, outdoor stadiums and ball parks beginning April 1, though at reduced capacity.
Theme parks like Walt Disney’s Disneyland will only be allowed to admit only Golden State residents at first, the state’s department of health said. Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in a statement on Tuesday that the company will need time to bring back and train furloughed employees, aiming to reopen in late April.
The decision to move forward and loosen restrictions has defied warnings from top public health officials in the Biden administration who asked states to temporarily halt reopening businesses after the nation’s decline in Covid-19 infections started to plateau. However, they acknowledged at a White House Covid-19 press briefing Wednesday that daily infections appear to be on the decline once again.
“There is so much that’s critical riding on the next two months,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the National League of Cities on Monday. “How quickly we will vaccinate versus whether we will have another surge really relies on what happens in March and April.”
Full capacity
Wednesday marked the end of Texas’ statewide mask mandate, and its businesses will be allowed to reopen “100%,” Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week, citing a decline in daily infections and the availability of vaccines.
The move left several retailers and restaurants in Texas, the largest state so far to relax all restrictions, to decide whether to relax their restrictions or ask customers to continue wearing masks. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves lifted the state’s capacity restrictions on businesses while also dropping the state’s mask mandate last week.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon on Monday announced the state’s bars, restaurants, theaters and gyms will be allowed to resume “normal operations” beginning March 16, saying the state’s most vulnerable residents now have access to the vaccine, according to a statement.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/states-lift-covid-restrictions-drop-mask-mandates-and-reopen-despite-warnings.html
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