There are likely to be no more COVID status outages, despite the CDC’s suggestion

When one of the nation’s top health officials this week suggested that states dealing with a spring rise in coronavirus cases should “shut things up,” the comment landed.

Even Democratic rulers and lawmakers who supported difficult orders to stay home and shut down businesses to curb previous outbreaks of COVID-19 say they have ended this approach. It’s a remarkable change for governors who have said since the beginning of the pandemic that they will follow science in decision-making, but it’s also a gesture of reality: another round of closure orders would probably only be ignored by a pandemic. tired public.

Political dynamics have changed markedly in recent weeks as vaccination rates have risen, the climate has become warmer, and public and business owners have become increasingly vocal about reopening schools and loosening schools. restrictions around social gatherings.

“I think we have a real compliance issue if we try to go back to the kind of restrictions that were there in March and April of last year,” said Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Zabel, a Democrat who had given support for previous closure orders Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat. “I don’t think there’s any hunger for that in Pennsylvania.”

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Cases of COVID-19 have been on the rise in Pennsylvania and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show it has one of the highest per capita calculation cases in the nation over the past week. Still, Wolf’s administration said it “has no plans to restore any closure orders at this time.” Instead, he noted that mask maintenance, collection limits, and social distancing remain necessary as the state gradually reopens.

Other governors also remain in the running to reopen the company, as they simultaneously expand eligibility for the vaccine, which could complicate President Joe Biden’s efforts to conquer the pandemic.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has unsuccessfully called on the Biden administration to redirect more doses of vaccine to its state as it struggles with the nation’s highest COVID-19 case rate. But CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday that vaccines would not immediately stifle an increase because they take up to six weeks to become effective.

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“The answer to that is to close things, go back to our basics, go back to where we were last spring, last summer and close things, flatten the curve, reduce contact with each other, try,” he said. dir Walensky.

This didn’t seem to influence Whitmer, who maintained tough restrictions for months when COVID-19 cases increased last spring and fall, but this time he has been reluctant to go beyond the limit of mandate and mask capacity. . Instead, he has called for the voluntary two-week suspension of meals at the indoor restaurant, face-to-face high school classes and youth sports.

“When we can’t take action to protect ourselves, the government has to step in. We were there a year ago. We were there four months ago,” Whitmer said. “We’re at a different time. Each of us it has the capacity and the knowledge to do what is necessary “.

He mainly blamed non-compliance and new variants of the coronavirus for the recent increase in cases. By adopting the language used by Republican governors before the pandemic, Whitmer and some other Democratic governors urge people to take personal responsibility for behaviors that will help limit the spread of the virus.

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Since the beginning of this year, the number of people going to restaurants and bars has increased significantly, while public support has decreased to close companies and limit travel, according to the COVID States Project, which has analyzed attitudes and behaviors public since the pandemic began.

That means governors will have to weigh what the public would be willing to do when considering how to respond to a resurgence of cases driven by new variants, said James Druckman, a professor of political science at Northwestern University in Illinois. which is part of the survey consortium. .

“At the moment it’s not realistic to completely close or close public spaces,” he said. “I think you would see a lot of people, including business owners, not following this kind of thing.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other Democratic and Republican leaders have expressed no support for reinstating the restrictions, though Cuomo has acknowledged that the state faces increased detection of potentially more contagious variants.

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The Democratic governor has said people want their children in classrooms and the hospitality and catering industries need help. He blamed any positive behavior on COVID-19 cases of “human behavior”.

“It’s a matter of personal responsibility,” Cuomo said at a ceremony Tuesday that banned journalists from attending. “Tell me how you act, I’ll tell you how likely you are to receive COVID.”

Republican New York Assembly minority leader Will Barclay said he would be against re-imposing a closure: “Taking a step back would have serious social and economic consequences,” he said.

In Colorado, a state mask warrant remains in effect until May 6. But Democratic Gov. Jared Polis plans to transfer decisions on other public health orders to county governments on Friday. This will put Colorado in line with some Republican-led states, such as Missouri, which has left business shutdown decisions in the hands of local officials since last summer.

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Although Colorado has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the past two weeks, Polis said the lack of hospitalizations among older adults shows vaccines work. The governor said he does not believe closures are necessary, but “people should respect this at the local level” if imposed.

A spokesman said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, is concerned about a recent increase in COVID-19 cases, but noted that hospitals have capacity and added that there is no need to repeat previous shutdowns. In Delaware, where cases have been high, Democratic Gov. John Carney said he hopes to avoid tightening restrictions he has been gradually easing in recent months.

Reinstating the closures would not only lead to political reactions, but would also be psychologically difficult for some people, who have recently begun to experience renewed freedoms after a year of restrictions.

“From a social science perspective, the governor’s decision not to go into a deadlock I think is reasonable,” said Dominique Brossard, president of the Department of Communication in Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin. “You have to work with what you have about the psychological state of people.”

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David A. Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. Associated Press writers David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan; Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware; Patricia Nieberg in Denver; John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois; Michael Rubinkam in northeastern Pennsylvania; and Marina Villeneuve in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.