Some businesses in Tennessee, Minnesota, Colorado, Montana and Mississippi will be allowed to reopen Monday as more governors feel the coronavirus pandemic has reached a point that it’s safe to do so.
The latest group of states to allow reopenings came three days after the first began in Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Alaska and South Carolina allowed certain types of service, industrial and office-based businesses to resume activities.
In Tennessee, restaurants in many parts of the state will reopen in-person dining. The change, however, does not include counties with the state’s largest cities like Nashville and Memphis, which will set their own timetables.
Retail stores will be allowed to open next week. Like restaurants, they must enforce new rules including limiting capacity to 50 percent and supply protective gear for workers.
Tennessee saw its largest one-day increase in cases Sunday.
In Minnesota, around 20,000 small businesses will reopen Monday under a directive issued last week by Gov. Tim Walz. The order allows up to 100,000 Minnesotans to return to work mainly in industrial, manufacturing and office settings.
Businesses that reopen must implement COVID-19 “preparedness plans” to ensure social distancing, worker hygiene and facility cleaning and disinfection.
In Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis announced that retail businesses outside of the metro Denver area can open for curbside pick-up and delivery beginning Monday.
Real estate home showings and elective medical, dental and veterinary surgeries will also resume “if facilities are following required safety protocols.” They will be joined by retail businesses and personal services starting Friday, under the same restrictions.
In Montana, Gov. Steve Bullock allowed a statewide stay-at-home order to expire Sunday and business closures were lifted beginning Monday. Under the order, main street and retail businesses can reopen “if they can adhere to requirements to limit capacity and maintain strict physical distancing.”
In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves ordered last week that business capable of putting social distancing guidelines into place can reopen Monday. However, businesses where that is impossible, such as fitness centers and salons, will remain closed.
Retail businesses will be limited to 50 percent capacity and be required to monitor employees for COVID-19 symptoms.
There have been nearly 966,000 cases in the United States and almost 55,000 deaths so far, according to Johns Hopkins University.
More beaches in Florida are reopening Monday, including some in the southwest part of the state. A few others have also reopened in recent days while others remain closed, and still others have never closed.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said over the weekend the state will begin to reopen in stages, although he advises residents statewide to comply with his stay-home order until at least Thursday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said over the weekend in a National Academy of Sciences webcast that testing still needs to be greatly expanded in the United States.
Fauci said “we’re getting better and better” but cautioned “we are not in a situation where we say we’re exactly where we want to be with regard to testing.”
Johns Hopkins University says more than 5.4 million tests have been administered in the United States so far.
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