States face critical reopening test this weekend
Transcript
The US is heading into the Memorial Day weekend unlike any other and it will test the ability of states to reopen safely.
After weeks of lockdown, millions across the country will be allowed to celebrate the holiday weekend outdoors.
Right now signs of the unofficial start of summer are popping up all over the country with beaches, parks and pools reopening.
Bars in Houston got a head start by opening Thursday night as Texas lifts more restrictions heading into the holiday weekend.
In Florida all children’s activities including camp can now resume.
However officials nationwide are also creating reopening playbooks.
Social distancing is the new mandate and masks are the season’s must-have accessory.
As states ease limits on how many people can gather and where, the push to include religious services started to grow louder.
President Trump responded on Friday by declaring houses of worship “essential.”
That includes churches, synagogues and mosques.
Trump warned that he would override any governor that prevented houses of worship from reopening this Sunday.
Rhode Island’s governor Gina Raimondo is adamant that reopening will not happen in her state this weekend.
She says Rhode Island is not ready and reopening would be reckless.
The Navajo nation, which has been hit particularly hard, is now on lockdown through Monday.
Now Montgomery, Alabama has emerged as a new hotspot for the virus.
Mayor Steven Reed says he believes it is because the state reopened the economy too soon and it led to a spike in cases.
New cases in the city nearly doubled since the beginning of the month.
Los Angeles, California, Nebraska, Minnesota and Chicago are also on the task force radar for virus spikes.
That is just another reminder that as the rules change across the country, the virus has not.
Posted – 5.23.20