US reopens but ‘normal’ is still nowhere near

Advanced Search

The story appears on

Page A11

April 30, 2020

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

US reopens but ‘normal’ is still nowhere near

Source: AP | 00:00 UTC+8 April 30, 2020 |

Print Edition

Everyone wants to know: When will it go back to normal?

As some governors across the United States begin to ease restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, hopes are soaring that life as Americans knew it might be returning. But plans emerging in many states indicate that “normal” is still a long way off.

White House adviser Dr Deborah Birx says social distancing will be with Americans through the summer. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards warns of a “different way of life” until there is a widely available vaccine — maybe not until next year. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says, “There is no return to yesterday in life.”

From the beginning, the pandemic forced impossible choices: physical health or mental health? Economic well-being or medical safety? Most states joined the world and turned the dial down hard, closing shops and restaurants, factories and schools. Now, the dial is beginning to inch in the opposite direction.

In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp is pushing one of the most aggressive reopening plans in the United States. Barbershops, gyms and nail salons were allowed to reopen on Friday, and dine-in restaurant service and movie screenings were freed to resume on Monday — despite warnings that, without sufficient testing, the state could see a surge in infections.

Even there, though, life was far from normal. Patrons went to restaurants with X’s on some tables, chatted across the room with one another and gave orders to servers whose faces were covered by masks.

In Alaska, restaurants are keeping logs with every customer’s name and phone number — in case they’re needed for contact tracing.

Draft guidance for reopening from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided more evidence that “normal” would not be on the menu — at restaurants or anywhere else. No break rooms for employees and no field trips for school children, the guidelines recommended.

In Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan laid out a phased reopening. First small shops could open, and some outdoor recreation could resume, then perhaps restaurants and bars. Phase three, which the administration cautions it has no realistic time frame for reaching, would allow larger social gatherings and high-capacity bars, restaurants and entertainment venues could reopen.

World

About Us
|
Terms of Use
|
RSS
|
Privacy Policy
|
Contact Us
|
Shanghai Call Center: 962288
|
Tip-off hotline: 52920043

沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
|
互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
|
网络视听许可证：0909346
|
广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
|
增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012

US reopens but ‘normal’ is still nowhere near

Email this to your friend