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 Fitness clubs, hair salons, tattoo parlors and some other workplaces
were allowed to open their doors by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp,
disregarding warnings from public health officials that easing
restrictions too soon could lead to more infections and deaths.
Georgia, one of several states in the Deep South that waited until
early April to mandate restrictions imposed weeks before across much
of the rest of the country to curb the outbreak, has become a
flashpoint in the debate over how and when the nation should return
to work.
While the COVID-19 illness is killing thousands of Americans daily,
stay-at-home orders and business closures have thrown more than 26
million people out of work, a level of unemployment not seen since
the Great Depression of the 1930s.
"We've been hurting real bad," said Lester Crowell, co-owner and
manager of the Three-13 hair salon in suburban Atlanta, which
reopened after 33 days. "I had to dip into my own bank account to
keep the lights on here."
A dozen customers lined up outside the salon, each standing 6 feet
apart. Before they could enter, staff members took their
temperatures and asked if anyone had a cough, a recent fever or a
housemate who had been sick or quarantined.
Despite the lost revenue, not all eligible merchants in Georgia
jumped at the chance to resume business. Shay Cannon, owner of
Liberty Tattoo in Atlanta, said he would reopen in May by
appointment only and did not foresee a return to normal until June
or later.
"We're just watching the numbers and doing what seems right to us,"
Cannon told Reuters.
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19, the highest in the world,
surpassed 51,000 on Friday, having doubled in 10 days, according to
a Reuters tally, and the number of Americans known to be infected
surpassed 900,000.
OTHER STATES REOPENING
Georgia was not alone in reopening.
Oklahoma was permitting some retailers to resume business on Friday,
Florida began reopening its beaches a week ago, South Carolina
started easing restrictions on Monday, and other states will follow
suit next week.
Trump, who had staked his November re-election on the nation's
booming economy before the pandemic, has given mixed signals about
when and how the country should begin to get back to work.
Last Friday, a day after the White House issued federal guidelines
urging a gradual, cautious approach advocated by health experts, he
called for several Democratic governors to "liberate" their states
from economic restrictions. But in a reversal this week, he publicly
criticized fellow Republican Kemp's moves to reopen Georgia.
Late on Thursday, Trump sparked fresh confusion over prospects for
COVID-19 treatments, suggesting scientists should investigate
whether patients might be cured by ingesting disinfectants or being
bathed in ultraviolet light.
The comments prompted doctors, health experts and manufacturers of
bleach to warn the public not to drink or inject disinfectant. On
Friday, Trump said his remarks were meant as sarcasm.
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U.S. Representative Doug Collins, a Georgia Republican, said restarting commerce
on Friday was sending mixed messages.
"Everyone's supposed to be staying home, but yet we're opening up these
businesses," Collins told Fox News. He cited the guidelines calling for states
to register a two-week decline in coronavirus cases before easing restrictions,
and said parts of Georgia were still struggling to treat patients.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose state has been the worst hit by the virus,
said reopening the economy prematurely in any U.S. state was a danger to others.
PEAK HOSPITALIZATIONS
According to a University of Washington research model often cited by the White
House, coronavirus hospitalizations in Georgia should peak next week.
Oklahoma, with far fewer cases and deaths than Georgia, began opening hair and
nail salons and other personal care businesses on Friday. The University of
Washington model predicts Oklahoma already hit its hospitalizations peak on
Tuesday and could safely loosen restrictions in June.
Tennessee reopened most of its 56 state parks on Friday.
Texas on Friday began a "retail-to-go" phase of its reopening, allowing retail
shops to either deliver products to homes or letting customers wait in cars in
parking lots for purchases to be handed them by store workers.
In practice, many Texas merchants have been doing this for weeks or stayed open
outright, as Republican Governor Greg Abbott had classified much of the state's
retail economy, including big-box stores, bike shops, dry cleaners and farmers
markets, as essential businesses.
In the latest protest against the shutdowns, hundreds of people gathered on
Friday outside the Wisconsin state Capitol building in Madison calling for
Democratic Governor Tony Evers to reopen the state, even as it reported its
largest single-day jump of new coronavirus cases.
"Stand strong, be united and stand tall and proud for America," said one of the
protesters through a bullhorn. Many in the crowd wore Trump hats, waved American
flags and carried "Go Back To Work" signs.
There was also a quiet counter-protest - a woman standing by a tree wearing a
face mask, a bottle of hand sanitizer on her hip, holding a sign that said,
"Please Go Home."
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta, Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, Susan
Heavey and Jeff Mason in Washington, Brad Brookes in Austin, Shannon Stapleton
in Madison and Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York; Writing by Nathan Layne and
Alistair Bell; Editing by Frank McGurty, Howard Goller and Daniel Wallis)
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