April 18, 2020 — Ohio and Texas are leading the way to a reopened America as both states are among the first to announce plans for an economic restart.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated retailers may reopen as soon as April 24 provided social distancing guidelines are upheld and curbside and to-go service be made available.
Ohio’s May 1 reopening plan follows suit with President Trump’s “Opening Up America” plan. Gov. Mike DeWine’s economic rollout includes safeguards such as employees wearing masks and undergoing wellness checks upon arrival to work, while still maintaining social distancing and limiting the number of people in one building.
On Friday, President Trump tweeted “LIBERATE VIRGINIA” and “LIBERATE MICHIGAN”, as reopening protests riddled the two states.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam cites “more cases each day” as reason for not meeting the criteria to reopen the state, and that a “14-day decrease in positive cases” should be met before looking into an economic restart.
But garnering much national attention is Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose rigorous state mandate forbids people from traveling between homes, closes non-grocery areas of supermarkets, and calls for businesses to stop advertising goods that are not groceries, medical accessories or essential home items.
It appears the path to opening America again will be slow and arduous. But at least the conversation is being had. Let’s trust that the states choose to fire up the economic engines swiftly and safely, for the impending casualties of a desperate pandemic society will be too many to count.
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