Three states in the US have eased the lockdown and have allowed select businesses to reopen after enforcing social distancing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 as fatalities in the US states have passed 51,000.
Salons and Spas are reopening in Oklahoma and Georgia while Alaska is lifting the ban on restaurants and food chains. President Donald Trump seemed in a hurry and walked out of the routine briefing earlier than usual to avoid questions as he faced backlash after suggesting that infecting domestic disinfectant into patients could help patients.
His remarks attracted equal criticism and condemnation from both health experts and manufacturers of the sanitizers. Disinfectants are without a doubt hazardous to health and can turn poisonous if ingested. Even external exposure to the sensitive parts could create a big harm.
The President on Friday cleared that the comments that created the fuss were purely sarcastic and taken out of context by fake media.
Present Situation in Oklahoma, Alaska and Georgia
While customers visiting the newly reopened businesses in three states are advised to follow the social distancing measures and businesses are expected to adhere to the post Corona SOP’s, some cities and areas in the states have still decided to not lift the restrictions.
Georgia has decided to open bowling alleys, spas, tattoos parlors, hair and nail salons and other personal care businesses. Theaters and dine-in restaurants are also expected to resume operations on Monday. With unemployment numbers reaching 26mn which roughly makes 15% of the total population, many states in the country are feeling the heat to restart business and economic activity.
However, health experts are still not in favor of lifting restrictions and have warned that reopening timetables could trigger another deadly wave of infections and deaths in the country. After being criticized by President Trump, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has come up with stricter social distancing SOPs and recommendations required for opening of the restaurants in the state under his control.
Elsewhere in WH and US
Briefing the media in White House, Mr. Trump urged public to continue to follow social distancing rules, practice sanitation and wear facemasks. The President also signed a USD 484bn economic stimulus bill into law. It is the 4th financial aid package sanctioned by Trump administration to rush economic relief towards its citizenry. The relief package provided by Washington would help in allocating funds to increase screening, strengthen medical facilities and keep small businesses afloat through loans.
At Present US has by far the highest fatality rate (more than 51,000) in the world and has over 890,000 confirmed corona cases. Another factor in the steep rise could be the inclusion of “probable virus deaths” in the fatality count by US Centers of Disease Control. However, the numbers may also be incomplete because of the fact that many mild cases remain unreported making the exact death rate much higher than the reported one. Rapid and large-scale testing efforts is the only solution to track the true numbers. United States has so far conducted 4.9mn Corona tests and the administration says it is working with states to expand the screening across the country.
