Over the weekend, an outbreak of a different kind was hitting the US: a sudden uptick in protests against local lockdowns. After six weeks of lockdown measures across the country, many people seem to be getting frustrated with the new status quo. Local economies are being battered, children are getting restless and people are losing their jobs.
While millions of Americans on unemployment are searching for “jobs near me hiring,” a battle is brewing over how much longer to follow lockdown guidelines. Some experts feel that the US is now cresting its peak number of cases overall. New York is finally seeing its new active cases fall. This has led many people to begin campaigning for an end to the lockdown measures.
Other areas, like Washington DC and Virginia, are becoming new hotspots for the virus, however. Some modelling shows that the virus hasn’t quite peaked yet. Many experts fear that reopening local economies too soon risks another spike in cases. Such a spike could overtax beleaguered hospitals and medical staff.
On the other hand, there has been some evidence that the social distancing guidelines worked even better than we could have expected. Deaths fell far, far under projections that were floated early in March. Aggressive, enthusiastic early support for the lockdown measures seem to have helped blunt the virus’s spread. However, many people are no longer enthusiastic about the measures.
On Thursday, the White House outlined its guidelines for states to return to normal. The Trump Administration has stated that it is aiming for May 1 as a target date to resume normal activity. By that point, some states will have spent as much as seven weeks under lockdown guidelines of some sort. Medical experts for the White House hope that this will have been enough time to properly flatten the curve.
Several states have made coalitions with their neighbors to work together on reopening their economies. California, Washington and Oregon, for instance, are coordinating their efforts. Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, similarly, have opened a task force to help them navigate their economies reopening.
States like Florida and Texas are already relaxing some of their guidelines. They are now making moves to reopen beaches and parks, as well as “retail to go.” In the coming two weeks, many states will likely begin the long, slow process of returning to normal.
