8 states and cities are pausing their reopenings as coronavirus cases spike — here's how their plans are changing
Kathleen Flynn/Reuters
- Texas has "paused" its reopening as coronavirus cases in the state climb steeply.
- Many states have seen surges in COVID-19 cases after reopening, leading state and city officials to reimpose restrictions or delay next steps.
- Here are the 8 states and cities that have slowed or backtracked their reopenings so far.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
As the US opens back up, the coronavirus is taking advantage of the new opportunities to spread.
As of Thursday, at least 29 states are seeing increases in daily coronavirus cases. The inclines are particularly steep in a number of Southern states, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas. Many are reporting more cases than they've ever seen on a daily basis.
"This is a continuation of the first wave," Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, told Business Insider. "Some places that might have been relatively spared early on in the winter and the spring are now facing cases higher than they had before."
As a result, many states and cities are dialing back their reopening efforts, reverting to earlier phases or postponing next steps.
Here are the places that are slowing down or walking back their reopening plans.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just paused his state's reopening plan. It was the latest in a series of leaders' decisions to delay lockdown lifts.
Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Abbott announced the pause on Thursday, saying businesses that have already reopened would be allowed to continue operating at limited capacity.
"The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses," he said in a statement. "This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business."
Texas was one of the first states in the country to start reopening from its coronavirus lockdown in early May. The state has seen a surge in cases since then.
On Tuesday alone, more than 5,000 new cases were reported in Texas — a number Abbott described as a "massive outbreak." Then on Wednesday, the state reported more than 6,500 more cases.
Dr. Peter Hotez, who is working on developing a COVID-19 vaccine, called Texas's situation "absolutely horrifying." He told the BBC that what's unfolding there is a "humanitarian catastrophe."
Louisiana postponed its next reopening phase by a month.
Kathleen Flynn/Reuters
The state will continue in phase 2 — which allows most businesses and places of worship to operate at half capacity with social distancing — for at least another 28 days, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced on Monday. He added that officials would do "another deep data dive" in two weeks to determine whether the state was ready to move on to phase 3.
"This is not the direction we want to be headed in," Edwards said, according to WWL-TV. "We need to do a better job of wearing masks when we aren't at home."
Edwards added that the rise in cases is "more than can be fairly attributed to the growth in testing," especially since hospitalizations have risen steeply alongside case counts.
Louisiana has reported more than 53,400 cases and 3,100 deaths as of Thursday.
North Carolina, too, has paused its plans to move to phase 3.
Rachel Jessen/Reuters
On Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced that the state would remain in phase 2 for another three weeks. He also mandated face masks in public places.
"North Carolina is relying on the data and the science to lift restrictions responsibly, and right now our increasing numbers show we need to hit the pause button while we work to stabilize our trends," Cooper said in a statement.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Coronavirus rates are still plummeting in US cities that held big protests — more evidence that indoor activities are riskier
- Health officials are receiving death threats, and over 20 have left their jobs after weeks of targeted harassment
- Young adults are driving the surge in coronavirus cases in Arizona, Florida, and Texas, officials say. Patients' median ages are dropping.
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