The reopening of the economy and loosening of coronavirus-prompted restrictions remain uneven and varied throughout the U.S. as governors watch case numbers and weigh caution against desires to ramp up business.
Texas, Oklahoma, and Montana are among states newly allowing restaurants to reopen. Malls, movie theaters and other venues are reopening in several states. Some states have outlined phased reopenings: North Carolina’s governor said he hopes to start such a process after this week if virus trends allow.
Some states, including epicenter New York, are moving more slowly, with restrictions in place at least until May 15. In California, some counties have announced their reopening in defiance of an ongoing stay-home order.
And some states never issued stay-home orders at all.
At least 100 million Americans were in states making assertive moves to reopen, or had no stay-home orders to begin with, according to an Associated Press tally. States home to more than 210 million were taking more gradual steps or didn’t appear close to reopening.
Here’s a look at where states stand on reopening.
NEW MOVES:
GEORGIA: Some malls reopened Monday, though things were far from normal with many businesses inside still shuttered and parking lots sparsely filled, as the state continued on an aggressive course to reopening. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp allowed a statewide shelter-at-home order to expire late last week. The order was already on shaky ground after restaurants and theaters were allowed to welcome customers back in with restrictions and many businesses were allowed to reopen. Georgia became a lightning rod for criticism in the national debate over reopening when Kemp allowed businesses including tattoo parlors, bowling alleys and hair and nail salons to reopen in April.
TEXAS: The stay-home order expired Friday, and restaurants, malls and movie theaters can reopen at 25 percent capacity with social distancing. Counties with five or fewer reported coronavirus cases have looser occupancy rules. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said restrictions may be relaxed further in two weeks depending on testing results. Beaches and state parks are open. Bars, gyms and hair salons remain closed.
SOUTH CAROLINA: The stay-home order lifted Monday as South Carolina let outdoor restaurant dining resume. Parks, beaches, malls, hotels and clothing stores have reopened. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said up next are hair salons, gyms and other close-contact businesses.
FLORIDA: Restaurants and shops could reopen at limited capacity Monday across Florida, except for three hard-hit counties. State parks reopened with social distancing rules. Gyms and salons remain closed. Schools will stay closed for the rest of this school year.
TENNESSEE: After allowing many restaurants and retail stores to reopen last week, salons and other close-contact stores will be allowed to resume Wednesday. The state has released guidelines on safely reopening, but officials acknowledge Tennessee won’t enforce such measures.
OKLAHOMA: Restaurant dining rooms, bars serving food, gyms and churches began welcoming back customers last week under social distancing and sanitation guidelines, following the earlier reopening of barbers and hair and nail salons. Employees, including church staff, are required to wear masks. Church day cares aren’t allowed to open.
MONTANA: Restaurants, bars and casinos began reopening Monday with increased sanitizing, limited crowds and servers donning masks. Churches and retailers opened last week, and a stay-home order was lifted except for vulnerable populations including older adults. Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock is allowing schools to reopen Thursday, but many districts already canceled in-person classes for the year.
UTAH: Restaurants, gyms, barbers and nail salons began reopening Friday. Distancing and mask requirements were in place for employees and some customers in urban Salt Lake County. Schools are closed for the academic year. Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said churches will likely be among the last places to reopen.
COLORADO: Offices deemed nonessential were allowed to reopen Monday with reduced staff. The move follows the April 26 expiration of Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ stay-home order. Current restrictions allow curbside retail and real estate showings. On May 1, retail stores and personal services were allowed to reopen with social distancing rules.
OHIO: Since Friday, most health care offices could reopen and retailers could begin offering delivery and pickup services, along with by-appointment visits for 10 or fewer customers. Distributors, manufacturers and builders restarted Monday with mask and social distancing requirements. Gyms, bars, restaurants, barbershops, salons, and movie theaters remain closed under Republican Gov. Mike Dewine’s order.
ARKANSAS: Gyms reopened Monday with social distancing and other restrictions. Barbershops, tattoo parlors and hair salons can reopen Wednesday, but with similar restrictions on capacity and additional screening requirements. Restaurants can reopen dining rooms next Monday, but only at a third of their capacity.
MISSOURI: Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s stay-home order ended Sunday, allowing businesses and religious events to reopen Monday. Some businesses, such as restaurants, must follow social distancing guidelines. Locally imposed stay-home orders remain in the St. Louis area through mid-May.
WEST VIRGINIA: Republican Gov. Jim Justice on Monday allowed the reopening of small businesses, barber shops, nail salons, and church and funeral services. Restaurants can allow outdoor dining. The move includes restrictions and is contingent on the state’s positive virus test rate staying below a threshold. In subsequent weeks, offices, hotels, casinos, restaurants and other remaining businesses could reopen.
ALASKA: Starting April 24, officials in Alaska allowed dine-in service at restaurants and reopening of retailers, personal care services and other businesses, with limitations. For example, the plans call for use of face coverings, limits on capacity and sanitizing requirements. The state in April decided there would be no in-person classes for K-12 students for the rest of the academic year.
VERMONT: More Vermont construction and manufacturing workers returned to work Monday after Republican Gov. Phil Scott loosened some restrictions. Scott also announced Monday that some elective health care procedures may resume. Last week, outdoor retail space that had been previously restricted to curbside or delivery service was allowed to open to in-person shopping with a maximum of 10 people, including both customers and employees.
LOUISIANA: Gov. John Bel Edwards has allowed non-emergency medical procedures to resume, and he’s allowed restaurants to open outside seating. Mall stores also have been given the green light to restart business, but with curbside service only. Other nonessential retailers that have never been forced to close — such as jewelry stores and boutiques — cannot have more than 10 people in the store at a time. Businesses that remain closed include casinos, salons, tattoo parlors, movie theaters, gyms and entertainment venues, and the overall stay-at-home order remains in place through May 15.
MORE GRADUAL:
WASHINGTON STATE: Gov. Jay Inslee has already eased some restrictions, including allowing day use of state parks. Outdoor recreation such as fishing and golfing will be allowed starting Tuesday. The Democratic governor also announced the state’s stay-at-home order will be extended through at least May 31. That will be followed with a four-stage process of lifting restrictions, starting with allowing retail curbside pickup, automobile sales and car washes by mid-May.
OREGON: Gov. Kate Brown says some rural counties where there are almost no cases can begin reopening slowly starting May 15 if certain conditions have been met. Medical facilities in Oregon were allowed to resume providing nonurgent medical care starting last Friday.
ALABAMA: Retailers and beaches are allowed to open Thursday evening but with distancing requirements. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced the state had lifted a stay-home order and replaced it with a “safer-at-home order” that began at 5 p.m. April 30. People are encouraged, but are no longer required, to stay home. Medical providers are also allowed to resume nonemergency medical procedures. However, some closures remain in effect through May 15. Gyms, salons, barbershops, entertainment facilities and on-site restaurant dining remain closed.
CALIFORNIA: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced Monday that some businesses in the state will receive permission to reopen as early as Friday, with restrictions. Newsom’s phased-in plan allows clothing stores, sporting goods, florists and other retailers to resume operations with curbside pickup. Dining in at restaurants and office reopenings are still prohibited. Three Northern California counties already reopened in defiance of Newsom’s orders.
MICHIGAN: Construction, real estate and more outdoor work can resume Thursday under Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s latest order. Many businesses will remain closed, including casinos, bars and gyms. Restaurants are limited to pickup and delivery. Schools are closed for the academic year except for distance learning. Though auto plants haven’t reopened, automakers and unions are in talks about restarting.
ARIZONA: Small retailers reopened Monday with curbside, delivery or appointment-based services. They will be allowed to welcome customers inside with social distancing starting Friday. Gov. Doug Ducey otherwise extended his stay-home order until May 15. He’s working with restaurants on how to eventually reopen dining rooms safely, but there’s no set timetable.
KENTUCKY: Health clinics, dentists and optometrists have reopened. Next Monday, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear also is allowing broad resumption of manufacturing and construction work, along with horse racing at Churchill Downs without spectators. Restrictions on car dealers and pet groomers also lift next week. Later in May, he plans to reopen more retailers and let churches resume in-person worship.
NORTH CAROLINA: The stay-home order, including business restrictions, remains until Friday, after which Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper hopes to begin a phased reopening. He said Monday that decisions on the pace of reopening depend on key metrics including trends in positive cases and hospitalizations.
IDAHO: Child-care centers were able to reopen May 1 under the first phase of Republican Gov. Brad Little’s phased plan. Churches can reopen, with distancing and sanitation rules. Bars, gyms, salons, movie theaters and sporting venues remain closed. Restaurants can offer curbside and delivery service.
INDIANA: The stay-home order was lifted Monday for most of the state, while Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb allowed more manufacturers and retailers to reopen. In-person restaurant dining and hair salons remain closed for another week. And gyms, movie theaters, bars and casinos remain closed until at least late May. Holcomb says he hopes to restart nearly all activities by July 4.
KANSAS: The stay-home order expired over the weekend, replaced with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan for a phased-in reopening of the economy through June 15. Restaurants can open for dine-in service so long as they observe social distancing and keep groups of more than 10 distanced from others. Bars, gyms, fitness centers, hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, and tattoo parlors are not allowed to reopen until May 18.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The stay-at-home order remains until May 31, with the restricted reopening of restaurants, hair salons and other businesses throughout the month. Hair salons, barber shops, retail stores and drive-in movie theaters can reopen May 11, but with restrictions. Restaurants, currently limited to takeout and delivery, can offer outdoor dining starting May 18.
PENNSYLVANIA: Golf courses, marinas and private campgrounds can reopen. Construction work can resume. On Friday, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf plans to lift his stay-at-home order, reopen many retailers and ease other restrictions in the least-affected parts of the state. Wolf says the shutdown can be loosened in a county or region once virus trends hit key benchmarks.
HAWAII: Gov. David Ige has extended a statewide stay-at-home order through May 31, though the state took some small initial steps to relax restrictions on May 1, including allowing people to golf provided each golf cart carries only one person unless this individual is accompanied by someone from the same household. Elective medical procedures and auto dealer visits by appointment have also been given the green light. Lt. Gov. Josh Green said over the next three weeks authorities will consider authorizing what he called medium-risk activities like going to the gym and patronizing restaurants, provided social distancing guidelines are followed.
RHODE ISLAND: Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo has consistently said she hopes to lift the state’s stay-at-home order May 8 to begin a phased restart of the economy. The first phase includes opening some state parks or beaches, allowing hospitals to perform elective procedures and other easing of restrictions, all with social distancing.
MISSISSIPPI: Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is easing restrictions on restaurants and outdoor gatherings, both beginning Thursday. Restaurants will be allowed to open indoor dining rooms and outdoor areas, with up to 50% customer capacity and no more than six customers per table. Servers must wear masks. Outdoor gatherings, such as youth sports practices, will be limited to 20 people, up from 10. Barbershops and salons remain closed. Reeves’s “safer-at-home” order took effect April 27, allowing many businesses to reopen with limits on capacity. The order expires May 11.
MINNESOTA: Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order runs through May 18, but with Republicans pressing him to allow more businesses to reopen, Walz on Friday loosened some restrictions on retail businesses to let them reopen for curbside pickup and deliveries. He said the change would let up to 30,000 people go back to work. Walz said he’ll ease restrictions this week on elective surgeries and dental care. Still, he’s made clear that many restrictions will stay in place beyond the May 18 date.
VIRGINIA: Gov. Ralph Northam hopes to let more businesses reopen by the end of next week. Northam’s announcement extended by a week an executive order that closed businesses. The order initially was set to expire Friday. It now expires May 15.
NO STAY-HOME ORDER:
WYOMING: Starting May 1, some businesses - barbershops, cosmetologists and tattoo parlors - were allowed to reopen. Only one jurisdiction, Teton County, which includes the Jackson Hole tourist enclave, enacted a stay-home order, now lifted. Other counties seek more lenient restrictions that could allow outdoor restaurant dining. Schools remain closed.
NEBRASKA: Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts loosened restrictions Monday in most of the state, allowing salons, tattoo parlors and dine-in restaurants to reopen with limited capacity. Restaurant employees must wear masks. Day cares will be allowed up to 15 children per room. The loosened restrictions will be expanded to 10 more counties May 11.
IOWA: After loosening business restrictions across most counties, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday that virus trends will dictate how soon she does the same in remaining counties, which include urban areas. Church services have been allowed to resume statewide.
NORTH DAKOTA: Gov. Doug Burgum on Friday allowed most businesses to reopen with precautions but kept large-scale venues closed until further notice. Burgum also announced Friday that North Dakota schools would remain closed for the rest of the academic year.
SOUTH DAKOTA: Republican Gov. Kristi Noem didn’t order any severe restrictions, instead asking people to observe social distancing and avoid groups larger than 10. Still, Noem last week issued a “Back to Normal” plan that advised businesses to open doors while taking precautions to keep people spread apart.
NOT ANYTIME SOON:
CONNECTICUT: Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont plans a multiphased reopening, starting May 20. That’s when outdoor restaurant dining, in addition to existing takeout, will be allowed. Barring virus flare-ups by then, Lamont also hopes to reopen — with added precautions — salons, outdoor zoo and museum exhibits, camping and other outdoor recreation, and university research programs.
NEW YORK: The statewide shutdown order expires May 15. After that, while New York City is the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed letting some less-affected upstate regions begin phased reopening once they’ve met criteria key virus markers. Some upstate hospitals have been allowed to resume elective surgeries but must maintain a certain threshold of open beds for emergencies. Schools are closed through the academic year.
NEW JERSEY: The COVID-19 hotspot has had nearly 8,000 deaths and over 128,000 positive cases. It is not fully reopening yet, though Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy reopened parks and golf courses last week, citing positive trends. He, however, said this week that schools would remain closed for the rest of the academic year. Murphy has said he wants to continue to see hospitalizations and the death toll, among other data, decline before he sets a full reopening date.
ILLINOIS: The stay-home order lasts through May 30, and with it, schools remain on remote-learning status and nonessential businesses are closed. But as of May 1, nonessential businesses could fill phone and online orders. Some nonelective surgeries may resume, and many state parks are open for hiking and fishing. Face-coverings are mandatory for public places where social distance can’t be maintained.
NEVADA: Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak extended a stay-at-home order until May 15 and says he may allow the reopening, on that date or sooner, of many nonessential businesses. But he said bars, casinos and shopping malls would likely stay shuttered. Sisolak is still deciding whether he will allow restaurants, barber shops and salons to reopen in mid-May with other businesses.
MASSACHUSETTS: Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has set a date of May 18 to begin gradually reopening in Massachusetts, which is under a stay-at-home advisory. Baker has warned that the economy won’t be “off to the races” that day. He said phased-in reopening plans are being considered by a 17-member commission and will include social distancing and cleaning protocols for businesses.
MARYLAND: Republican Gov. Larry Hogan says a gradual reopening will depend on downward virus trends. Last month, Hogan said he was hopeful Maryland could begin the first phase of reopening businesses in early May, but he hasn’t elaborated on a time.
WISCONSIN: The stay-home order runs until May 26, but Republican legislative leaders are pressuring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to reopen faster. Republicans also are asking the state Supreme Court to block the latest order and force Evers’ administration to bring lawmakers into the decision-making. Evers’ phased reopening plan requires 14-day improvements in certain key virus trends that have not been met.
NEW MEXICO: Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham extended the stay-home order until May 15 but has begun modest moves to reduce business restrictions, recently allowing curbside and delivery operations for nonessential businesses, opening golf courses and some state parks, and allowing firearm sales by appointment.
DELAWARE: Democratic Gov. John Carney has given no indication when he might lift restrictions, despite protests and pressure from GOP lawmakers. He has indicated that he will look closely at virus trends.
MAINE: With a safer-at-home order lasting through May, restrictions were lifted May 1 on golf courses, many state parks and visits to dentists, barbers and hairdressers. Restrictions are set to lift for restaurants, lodging and camping June 1.
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