LANSING, Mich. (AP) – States relax coronavirus restrictions on restaurants and other companies due to improved number of infections and hospitalization, but move gradually and cautiously, in part due to the more contagious variant coming into effect in the US
While relaxation could increase case rates, health experts say it can work if done in a measured way and if the public remains vigilant about masks and social distancing.
“If the frequency increases, tighten it. If the frequency decreases, relax. The right solution is almost impossible, ”said Dr. Arnold Monto, a professor of public health at the University of Michigan. “There is no perfect way to do this.”
As Michigan’s coronavirus rate drops to the fifth lowest in the country in two weeks, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said bars and restaurants can welcome domestic customers next week for the first time in two and a half months. But they will be under the roof at 10 pm and will be limited to 25% of capacity, or half of what was allowed last when they lifted their restrictions, in June.
The state has previously authorized the resumption of in-person courses at high schools and the partial reopening of cinemas.
“We’re in a stronger position because we’ve taken this break,” Whitmer said. “But we are also very aware that this variant is now here in Michigan. It’s a real threat. ”
The number of COVID-19 deaths in the US exceeded 425,000, with the death toll running close to historical highs at almost 3,350 per day, on average.
But newly confirmed cases have dropped in the past two weeks from an average of about 248,000 a day to about 166,000. And the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 decreased by tens of thousands, to 109,000.
At the same time, health experts have warned that the more contagious and probably more lethal variant, which runs through the UK, will likely become the dominant source of infection in the US by March. It has been reported in over 20 states.
Other mutant versions are circulating in South Africa and Brazil. The Brazilian variant was first detected in the USA, in Minnesota.
Chicago and surrounding suburbs allowed indoor dining on weekends for the first time in October. Major cultural attractions, including the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium, have been reopened with crowded boundaries.
Steve Lombardo III, the owner of a group of restaurants in Chicago, said that the possibility of placing customers inside is a “big boost”. One of its most famous restaurants, Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse, used hospital air filtration systems in hopes of staying afloat, he said.
“Will we make money?” Probably not, “said Lombardo. “But we will not bleed the money as we have in the last three months.”
Washington, DC, recently ended its one-month ban on indoor dining, but one in New York remains in effect.
California Governor Gavin Newsom lifted home orders this week he imposed last month, when hospitals were so overwhelmed by virus patients that they were on the verge of rationing life-saving care. Restaurants and places of worship will be able to operate outdoors, and many stores will be able to have more buyers indoors.
Jen Diaz, a 38-year-old technical writer from Santa Clarita, California, who works remotely and has not left home for a supermarket trip in March, said she was “terrified” when she heard the announcement. the governor. He has rheumatoid arthritis, and his treatments suppress his immune system, but he has not yet received a vaccination because he is under 65 years old.
“I was very, very proud of California’s response at first,” in the early months of the pandemic, she said. “It simply came to our notice then. “Let’s go to the mall!”
She added: “The government does not seem to take this as seriously as it once did, at the state level.”
In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown announced that some indoor operations, such as gyms and movie theaters, may reopen on Friday with limited capacity. The inner mass is still banned in the most affected counties.
Not all places take an equally cautious approach.
After North Dakota fell to the second lowest percentage in the country, Republican Gov. Doug Burgum not only relaxed the limits on the number of people who can gather at restaurants and bars this month, but also allowed , to expire the mask mandate at the state level last week.
“The fight is far from over, but we can certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel here,” Burgum said.
Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean for public health practices and community involvement at Johns Hopkins University and former head of the Maryland Department of Health, warned that such a step could be high risk.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable to start reopening, but if people think this is the green light to pretend the virus doesn’t exist, then we’ll go back to where we were,” Sharfstein said. “If you make restrictions, the virus decreases. You can open up and see how it goes. But if the variants really come in, this can’t be so easy. ”
Many restaurants say they can’t survive by just offering food in the winter, when the cold makes it difficult, if not impossible, to eat outdoors.
Rick Bayless, one of the most decorated chefs in the United States, said that permission to dine at his Mexican restaurants in Chicago could gain him some time.
“With 25% indoors, we could be in the spring, when people want to go outdoors,” he said.
Bayless said the business survived a previous closure only because its landlord allowed it to be rent-free for three months. Uncertainty has affected its workers, he said.
“It was a touch-and-go. When they allowed us to open on Saturday, we had staff here who were literally in tears, “Bayless said.
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Babwin reported from Chicago. Associated Press writer Sophia Tareen of Chicago contributed to the report.