With the US coronavirus death toll topping 50 000, Georgia, Oklahoma and a handful of other states took the first tentative steps at reopening for business on Friday (April 24), despite the disapproval of US President Donald Trump and health experts.
I (or @VP) never gave Governor Brian Kemp an OK on those few businesses outside of the Guidelines. FAKE NEWS! Spas, beauty salons, tattoo parlors, & barber shops should take a little slower path, but I told the Governor to do what is right for the great people of Georgia (& USA)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2020
Gyms, hair salons, tattoo parlours and some other businesses were cleared to open their doors by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who disregarded warnings from public health officials that relaxing restrictions could lead to more infections and deaths.
The southern US state has become a flashpoint in the debate over how quickly the country should return to work.
While the COVID-19 illness is killing thousands of Americans daily, stay-at-home policies have made millions jobless.
Despite the lost revenues, not all eligible businesses in Georgia jumped at the chance to reopen. 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 US COVID-19 death toll, the highest in the world, topped 50 000 on Friday, having doubled in 10 days, according to a Reuters tally, and the number of Americans known to be infected surpassed 875 000.
Jasmine Maskell, owner of Timeless Tattoo in Atlanta, said she was not opening on Friday but would slowly resume business over the next couple of weeks under strict precautions.
The shop would operate as if everyone is infected, Maskell said. “We will just operate under that notion and then we can keep everyone safe here.”
Oklahoma was opening some retail businesses on Friday, Florida started letting people visit some of its beaches last Friday, South Carolina began easing restrictions on Monday, and other states will relax guidelines next week.
A Republican, Trump has given mixed signals about when and how the country should begin to get back to work after weeks in lockdown. This month he called for Democratic governors to “liberate” their states but, in a reversal this week, he told a news conference he disapproved of Georgia’s move to reopen.
The comments prompted doctors and health experts to warn the public not to drink or inject disinfectant. On Friday, Trump said his remarks were meant as sarcasm.
Asked about the 50 000 deaths and whether he felt any responsibility, Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday: “I think we’ve done a great job.” He pointed to early estimates that suggested the coronavirus could lead to at least 100 000 deaths in the United States.
“We’re going to be, hopefully, far below that. If we didn’t take quick action, you could have lost many millions of people.”
US Representative Doug Collins from Georgia, a Republican like the state’s governor Kemp, said reopening on Friday was confusing for customers.
“Everyone’s supposed to be staying home, but yet we’re opening up these businesses,” Collins told Fox News. He cited federal guidelines calling for states to experience a two-week decline in cases first, 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 coronavirus, said reopening the economy too early in any US state was a danger to others.
“Assume the virus got on the plane that night and flew to New York or flew to Newark airport. That has to be the operating mentality,” he told a news briefing.
