Today’s update starts with great news for the nation: New York, which has been slammed hardest by the Wuhan Coronavirus, has begun to reopen…at least its beaches and specific regions of the state.
No indication, yet, that Governor Andrew Cuomo will be accused of experimenting in human sacrifice due to the decision.
Cuomo has freed 5 specific areas of the state, allowing them to enter Phase One of the economic reopening process.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the stay-at-home order enacted to help halt the spread of the coronavirus will remain in place until May 28, with the exception of a handful of areas around the state that have met benchmarks for reopening.In an executive order issued late Thursday, Cuomo said five regions in the state — Finger Lakes, Central New York, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier and the North Country — could move into phase one of reopening.The order also extended several emergency “suspensions” and “modifications” of laws through June 13.Under the first phase of reopening, some industries previously deemed nonessential, including construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade, can begin to resume some normal operations, so long as they adhere to safety metrics as prescribed by the state Department of Health. These include wearing face masks in public and maintaining social distancing of a least 6 feet.
Also, New York has joined several other states in the region to reopen beaches in time for Memorial Day.
In a multi-state plan with New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware, Cuomo said shuttered shorelines would reopen at 50 percent capacity with restrictions such as closed picnic areas and no volleyball or football allowed.“What one state does will affect other states,” he said during his daily Albany press briefing. “We want what’s best for New Yorkers. It’s not in New York’s best interest to have New Yorkers to go to a New Jersey beach.”Still that’s as Cuomo also extended the state’s stay-at-home order to June 13, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he’ll “pull the brakes” on beach openings if coronavirus cases go back up.
On the other hand, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was accused of “experimenting in human sacrifice” when he began the bold reopening of his statebold reopening of his state in late April…nail salons and tattoo parlors included.
Georgia’s success in reopening its economy should serve as an example to leaders across the country who are hesitant to lift their coronavirus-induced lockdown orders, Tucker Carlson said Thursday.The “Tucker Carlson Tonight” host praised Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who last week reported that his state had its lowest number of hospitalized coronavirus patients since hospitals began reporting in early April. The good news came just days after Kemp moved forward with his reopening plan, despite strong opposition from leaders on both sides of the aisle….There are still sick people in the state and some of them will die, but as of tonight, Georgia’s numbers, the actual numbers, are no worse than the national average. And that tells us a lot,” the host argued. “We should be thrilled by this news because it suggests that America can begin to return to normal, restore rights stolen from the population, maybe treat citizens like adults once again, and not court medical disasters.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was decried as a “pandemic denier” for opening up sections of his stater in late April as well. Now, restaurants are steadily returning to normal.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis loosened restrictions on restaurants, stores and gyms Friday as part of his plan to reopen the state.DeSantis was at Ascension St. Vincent’s in Riverside, alongside hospital administrators and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, to announce his next step in reopening Florida.He said positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths were down, and that it’s time to get back to some normal activities safely.For the first time since March, gyms can be open, if they follow strict guidelines, starting Monday. Also, restaurants will be able to operate at 50% capacity.
Given the success Georgia and Florida have had, and upon realizing all of the unintended consequences of extending the lockdown beyond “flattening the curve”, one doctor who championed the idea of prolong shutdowns has changed his mind.
Dr. Marty Makary, a surgeon and a professor of health policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, is now promoting a plan to safely reopen the country.
As circumstances have evolved, so has my thinking. We have survived the surge in hospitalized cases and suffered immense economic trauma. The full lockdown made sense weeks ago. But the situation is changing, and more data on the virus are now available to inform our next steps. The choice before us isn’t to fully lock down or to totally reopen. Many argue as though those are the only options.As a physician, I firmly believe that the primary goal of our reopening strategy should be to maximize the number of lives saved. But virus mitigation can take many forms, ranging from effective to excessive. Extreme forms of mitigation can have diminishing returns. Projections of the death toll produced by the current economic shutdown are often politically motivated, but the effects on human life are real.
The doctor’s plan includes spending more time outside and actually isolating only the vulnerable population.
This update will wrap up on an extremely positive note: A new British model suggests, based on actual data and experience, the coronavirus will be wiped ot in June.
Fewer than 24 people are catching coronavirus each day in London, new modelling suggests, with forecasts predicting the virus could be wiped out in the capital within a fortnight.Analysis by Public Health England (PHE) and Cambridge University calculates that the ‘R’ reproduction rate has fallen to 0.4 in London, with the number of new cases halving every 3.5 days.If cases continue to decrease at the current rate, the virus will be virtually eliminated in the city by the end of the month, raising questions about whether strict lockdown measures would need to continue.
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