LANSING, Michigan (AP) – States are easing coronavirus restrictions on restaurants and other businesses due to improved infections and hospitalizations, but are moving gradually and cautiously, in part because of the more contagious that applies to the United States.
While relief can 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, you will strain it. If the frequency drops, you loosen up. Getting it right is almost impossible, ”said Dr. Arnold Monto, a professor of public health at the University of Michigan. “There’s no perfect way to do that.”
As Michigan’s coronavirus rate dropped to the fifth lowest in the country in two weeks, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said bars and restaurants will be able to accommodate domestic customers next week for the first time in two months. i mig. But they will have a curfew at 10pm and will be limited to 25% capacity, half of what was allowed the last time they relaxed their restrictions, in June.
The state previously authorized the resumption of face-to-face classes in high schools and the partial reopening of movie theaters.
“We’re in a stronger position because we’ve taken that break,” Whitmer said. “But we also keep in mind that this variant is now here in Michigan. It is a real threat. “
The death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. has exceeded 425,000, and the death toll is approaching record highs at nearly 3,350 a day on average.
But recently confirmed cases have dropped in the past two weeks, going from an average of about 248,000 daily to about 166,000. And the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has dropped by tens of thousands to 109,000.
At the same time, health experts have warned that the most contagious and possibly the most lethal variant that drags Britain is likely to become the dominant source of infection in the US in March. More than 20 states have been reported.
Other mutant versions are circulating in South Africa and Brazil. The Brazilian variant has been detected for the first time in the US, in Minnesota.
Chicago and the surrounding suburbs allowed dinner indoors over the weekend for the first time since October. Major cultural attractions, such as the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium, reopened with crowded boundaries.
Steve Lombardo III, owner of a group of restaurants in the Chicago area, said being able to seat customers inside was a “big boost.” One of its most famous restaurants, Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse, has used hospital-grade air filtration systems in hopes of staying in the fleet, he said.
“Are we making money? Probably not, ”said Lombardo. “But we haven’t hemorrhaged the money like we’ve had in the last three months.”
Washington, DC, also ended its ban on indoor food for a month, but one in New York City remains in effect.
This week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom withdrew orders to stay home imposed last month when hospitals were so overwhelmed with virus patients that they were about to ration rescue care. Restaurants and places of worship will be able to operate outdoors and many shops may have more shoppers indoors.
Jen Diaz, a 38-year-old technical writer from Santa Clarita, California who works remotely and hasn’t left home since a trip to the grocery store in March, said she was “horrified” when she heard the governor’s announcement. . He has rheumatoid arthritis and his treatments suppress his immune system, but he has not yet been vaccinated because he is under 65 years old.
“I was very, very proud of California’s response at first” during the early months of the pandemic, he said. “It simply came to our notice then. “Let’s go to the mall!”
He 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, could reopen on Friday with limited capacity. Homemade food is still banned in the hardest-hit counties.
Not all sites take such a prudent approach.
After North Dakota dropped to the nation’s second-lowest case rate, Republican Gov. Doug Burgum this month not only relaxed the limits on the number of people who can gather in restaurants and bars, but also allowed the state mask mandate expired last week.
“The fight is far from over, but we can certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel from here,” Burgum said.
Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean of public health practices and community engagement at Johns Hopkins University and former head of the Maryland Department of Health, warned that this step could carry a high risk.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable to start reopening, but if people think it’s the green light to pretend the virus doesn’t exist, we’ll go back to where we were,” Sharfstein said. “If you make restrictions, the virus falls. You can open up and see how it goes. But if the variants are really taken advantage of, it may not be so easy ”.
Many restaurants say they can’t survive by offering takeaway food only in the winter, when the cold makes it difficult, if not impossible, to offer al fresco dining.
Rick Bayless, one of the most decorated chefs in the United States, said that allowing food inside his Chicago Mexican restaurants can earn him a while.
“With 25% indoors, we could arrive in the spring, when people will want to go outdoors,” he said.
Bayless said the business survived a previous shutdown only because its owner allowed it to remain without rent for three months. Uncertainty has affected its workers, he said.
“It simply came to our notice then. When we were allowed to open on Saturday, we had staff here who were literally crying, ”Bayless said.
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Babwin reported from Chicago. Associated Press writer Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.