Coronavirus lockdowns: Unrest growing in few remaining states that won't give firm reopening date
By: Greg Norman
The country is getting ever more restless to reopen the economy and get back to work before the Wuhan virus really does what China intended it to do to our economy. We must protect our livelihoods our individual rights, our economic rights, and our religious liberty come what may.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Unrest is growing Friday in the American states that have become the last holdouts in terms of announcing dates when their economies will start reopening during the coronavirus outbreak.
As the virus continues its deadly and unpredictable spread across the U.S., the economic losses are piling up as well, with more than 33 million Americans seeking jobless aid since the closures began.
The overwhelming majority of states have given businesses the green light to start reopening in hopes of containing the damage, with some going as far as allowing retail stores, restaurants and hairdressers to start serving customers again in limited capacities.
But other holdouts such as New York and Washington – despite revealing phased plans to do so – remain for the most part locked down indefinitely.
“As we look at what we need to do to responsibly reopen the state, we can't help but note that yesterday, May 6 -- so this is now over two months since our first case -- 325 people walked through or were taken through the doors of hospitals,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday as protesters amassed once again at its statehouse in Trenton , reportedly chanting “open New Jersey now” and “freedom over fear!”
Protests have broken out in states like New Jersey that have yet to give residents a clear date as to when most of its economy will reopen. (Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
New Jersey – another one of the holdouts – reopened its parks and golf courses last week. Murphy around that time told "Fox & Friends" that the rest of his state’s reopening can begin to be phased in "as soon as we can responsibly get the health challenges under control" -- which he thinks could be in a matter of weeks, not months. But as of Friday, that exact date remains unclear.
In Maryland, protests broke out over the weekend with some people calling on Gov. Larry Hogan to lift the state's stay-at-home order and closures, which as of this Friday remain in effect for many industries and businesses across the state with no clear end date in sight. Hogan told Fox News on Sunday that while he was sympathetic, the number of confirmed cases in Maryland is continuing to rise .
“We're hoping to get our numbers to plateau so we can get things open as quickly as possible because we have too many people not working and too many businesses that are suffering,” he said.
And in New York -- which has suffered the most coronavirus deaths of any state in the nation--Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined a set of criteria this week that each region must meet before phase one of its opening plan can begin. The soonest any region could start reopening is May 15, as the state’s stay-at home orders expire on that date. Yet some regions are being held up solely because they lack the testing levels Cuomo is seeking, leaving residents guessing how long it will take to meet that threshold.
“I get the emotion -- everybody would like to see everything reopen tomorrow. Me, first and foremost. Everyone. On every level – personally, economically,” Cuomo said during his daily press briefing Friday. “But... we are now in control and we have the virus on the run because we have been smart and because we have been disciplined.”
The debate on America reopening its economy hit a flashpoint on April 30 , as dozens of protesters -- some of whom were carrying rifles – gathered inside Michigan's Capitol building to voice their opposition to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order.
As of this week, the tensions there remain, as one Michigan state lawmaker was spotted heading into work while being flanked by armed escorts.
Elsewhere, incidents have broken out over the use of face masks during the pandemic.
In Oklahoma, the city of Stillwater lifted a coronavirus mask requirement last week following reports of physical confrontations — and a threat of violence involving a gun -- at reopened stores and restaurants. In Alabama, an off-duty police officer recently was captured on video appearing to body-slam a shopper at a Walmart store after she allegedly refused to wear a face mask and became disorderly, authorities said.
And on the Internet, debates have been raging over which Americans are following their states’ safety guidelines and which aren’t, sometimes pitting neighbors against each other.
Yet as states begin to pull back the restrictions on their economies, experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a member of the Coronavirus Task Force – are urging them to take caution.
"You can't just leap over things and get into a situation where you're really tempting a rebound," he told NBC’s "Today" show in a recent interview . "That's the thing I get concerned about. I hope they don't do that.
"When you pull back, there will be cases," he added.
Fox News’ Yael Halon, Robert Gearty and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down – A.F. Branco Cartoon
Posted by: A.F. Branco in Featured News, Political Cartoons May 8, 20202 Comments
That sums up blue America perfectly.
I'm sorry. But this is a whole 'nother type of bigotry you are supporting in here. It's not a healthy exchange of ideas!
Because is political bigotry intent on dividing people and it is not healthy! Pray for good political health during the Coronavirus pandemic.
This is not about you or me, in and of ourselves. This is not an endurance contest (at least, not yet anyway)! Nor, is it sport.
That’s pretty much it.
Because it is political bigotry intent on dividing people and that is not and can not be made healthy! We should all pray for good political health during this coronavirus pandemic-in all of us! End wagging a judgemental, self-righteous, and mocking 'finger' at our neighbors.
We should all pray for good political health during this coronavirus pandemic-in all of us! Do you,. . .pray? Hope will do nicely, if not!
.....But other holdouts such as New York and Washington – despite revealing phased plans to do so – remain for the most part locked down indefinitely.
“As we look at what we need to do to responsibly reopen the state, we can't help but note that yesterday, May 6 -- so this is now over two months since our first case -- 325 people walked through or were taken through the doors of hospitals,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday as protesters amassed once again at its statehouse in Trenton , reportedly chanting “open New Jersey now” and “freedom over fear!”.......And on the Internet, debates have been raging over which Americans are following their states’ safety guidelines and which aren’t, sometimes pitting neighbors against each other.....
That pretty much sums them up!
Fine, don't shelter and take it home to your family. When you kiss grandma and slip her the tongue just know you may be signing her death warrant.
Don’t you people have some middle ground - some sense of balance? Does wanting to stay above water have to turn into tonguing grandma?
I have seen folks who let their personal fantasies play out online occasionally.
Strange lot.
My grandma died in 2012 at the age of 103 so that was extremely rude. The attitude you project is why we are in open rebellion against that kind of micromanagement of our lives. We are adults and can be responsible on our own without some freakin big state nanny looking over our shoulder or even worse, snitching on us to big brother. We categorically reject being governed by that type of regime.
Did you get your 'relief' check. Rhetorical. (No need to answer positively or negatively.) 'Big government' is a BS propaganda term designed to evoke a feeling and a specific return. So the "no feeling" conservatives, seek to draw on emotions when convenient is that it?
You do not exist alone with your Trump supporting clique in this country. Nor are trump supporters the only responsible adults in this country. BTW, many liberals are taking care of sick conservatives and making the well and 'whole' again during this crisis. We don't need empty talk for empty talk sake.
Politicizing the pandemics. No shame whatsoever. Grow up, already. If you don't mind old people dying, then you won't mind Trump doing so. Trump is old, old, old.
A Boris Johnson moment may be coming to the WH soon.
For the sake of the country we certainly are united in the hope that doesn’t happen.
It's already happening. The WH is experiencing high infection rates due to a lack of social distancing and a refusal to wear PPE.
As usual, Trump is acting out of stupidity and ignorance. I imagine he has already caught a dose and has nobody to blame but himself.
No, just saying that now there are 11 Secret Service people who have tested positive as well as the three personal attendants to Ivanka, Potus and Pence's Press Secretary (Mrs. Steven Miller).
For a bunch of people worried about the optics of wearing masks, they are obviously not in a clean or safe environment and it's kind of outrageous for them to politicize it with derogatory cracks that only liberals wear the masks.
That's 71 SS employees out of the loop assuming the 23 "recovered" are allowed to be on WH grounds.
We are not the ones politicizing this. We are simply trying to get back to our lives and earn a living. It’s the left that is making it political and personal by questioning the motives of people in less hard hit areas resuming their lives and attacking the political leaders there who are making it happen for us.
People are rightfully cautious, justifiably scared, and deliberately patient. Unless you have a virus detection device you have no idea where this coronavirus will 'hit' next. None whatsoever. I can assure you that if you had the means to know, you would not have allowed the White House to be 'hit' by the germ!
But, should it land in your village, hallow, or farmland - uh-oh - won't do. The 'old heads' (and a few young ones too) will head over to a similar set of emergency services doctors, nurses, and support personnel as the big cities turn to now.
You are politicizing it. To deny it is untrue. Your avatar makes a case for who/what purposes you stand~irregardless of the facts of the matter contrary. Trump has loss his 'stellar' record on the economy. Somebody must 'pay' for that fact. Senior citizens— wait; Trump is a really old senior citizen with virus running 'rampant' in the White House.
XDm9mm, talk is cheat. I'm glad you don't have the virus and hope you do not ever catch it. We are being warned that this virus is not something you can moralize over; "cash out," "aw shucks away," or pull your guns, plural, on. It is the new normal and left to its own means it will cut down rural "small town" America easier than major population centers of commerce, science, and business.
The virus has stepped on the (big ass waving) flags in all four corners of this country. Clearly, it is not a respecter or persons! Consider your area relatively lucky (up to this point). The saying goes, "There but for the grace of God. . . . " You might have heard it used in your life?
I would caution you not to 'cross-contaminate' your arguments. The Coronavirus issue is a one of life and death, medicine, and science. The other issue goes alone the lines of "rugged individualism" in a nation of 350 plus and counting citizens. Keeping It Straight In This Day And Age.
Really? The more crowded and more blue an area is the more hard hit by the virus the area is. The more thinly populated and red an area is the fewer cases they have. The bottom line is that we will not accept the guilt trip from the harder hit areas to hold ourselves hostage to their conditions.
This is a hard news article about how people are responding to the post 15 and 30 day federal effort to bend the curve and how people in states are dealing with it in each state. It is blue state mayors and governors who are making it political.
So what? You are above the 'fray'? Is that your best? Divide and conquer? Ignorant. Your 'wide, spread out areas' won't be worth much when a highly contagious virus shows up and y'all ineptly attempt to manage it. But, it's okay. It's okay. The liberals with excessive training and hard-won experience amassed from their closely dense populations Covid-19 victories and losses will ride in to help out this cult of personality you live in. After-all, this is what 'earthy' liberals do.
Victor Davis Hanson: 'Blue state' governors' lockdowns put America in 'untenable situation'
Historian and Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson told "The Story" Friday that Democratic governors of states like New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois are creating an "untenable situation" by being slow to lift lockdowns instituted to counter coronavirus.
"We don’t think more people will die because of the lockdown versus exposure to the virus," Hanson said, mimicking the thought process of some Democratic governors, "We have to be absolutely certain that nobody gets the virus and dies."
As a result, he said, residents of those states are prevented from paying into the system with tax money, which is needed to fund entitlement programs.
and bail us out while we sit at home and suggest that we are your moral superiors.
"That is an untenable situation."
Hanson said the entire dynamic is "incoherent" because people cannot "stay at home" and yet demand the government print money to "run entitlements while we are not working."
"[T]hat money has got to come from somewhere," he said, "and it’s going to come from the places that are actually risking and going out and working and providing it."
People do need to work and that means jobs and leaving home. However, none of that reasoning explains why the White House does not follow its own federal coronavirus task force guidelines or why it rejected the CDC.'s Reopening Plan publication over peripheral issues of liberty, religious rights, and the economy!
The task force and the CDC are simply doing their due diligence to do no harm and when/where possible save lives.
It is certainly possible to accomplish both, save lives and return the economy, at the same time. But not, if facts are hidden from the very employers and workers who need to know about those facts!
You mischaracterized my comment @5.2.3 in your haste. Please reassess it, and then comment.
You're kidding, right? Have you even heard the arduous worldwide discussions about person to person transmissions? There is not enough sun to stop this virus from decimating life. But, if you want to beleve there is, by all means, go for it! Astounding!
1. I won't bother mentioning the obvious cautionary tales in your 'presentation.' They are er' obvious.
2. The story you cite was discussed by Bill Bryan from the Department of Homeland security during a White House Coronavirus Task Force Briefing.
2. Bill Bryan also pointed out during the briefing when asked by Trump if high sunlight kills the coronvirus stated within a 1.5 minute timeframe. Then, he continued on to explain that should the sun shine on top of a table for a required period the virus can/will die, but and it is a 'bigly' but, the infected underside will remain contaminated to the touch! In other words, sunlight (high heat) may kill the virus directly. Yet not simply by its presence in the sky above.
XDm9mm, is this "astute" enough or need I offer something more?
Your second "segmented" question is just not addressable. If you think your "sleepy hallows" does not buttress up with members of other parts of the country through visitations (back and forth) or highways --what can I say to change your mind? Not much! Liberals are not monsters.
Coronavirus is a monster and I plead with you, do not let it distort your sense of other people's humanity!
Read with me:
After Georgia Reopened, 62,000 Non-Georgians Came To Visit: Data
Analyzing smartphone data, researchers found thousands out-of-state visitors traveled to Georgia after it lifted its coronavirus shutdown
ATLANTA, GA — Georgia has become a kind laboratory for what happens when states reopen their economies, but it's what was happening outside the state that alerted researchers at the University of Maryland, who on Thursday said they'd tracked location data on the smartphones of some 62,000 additional visitors to the Peach State between April 24 and May 1.
.. . .
For Xiong, the data also raised questions about travel to Georgia from states still in lockdown. He noted that after the adjacent states, the next most traveled-from location is New York City, which remains in strict shutdown with 178,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 20,000 deaths.
[ Support/Read the story here ]
XDm9mm, you were saying. . . .
So people from NYC are going to travel to states and areas reopening to what purpose?
What are you asking me for? You are the one praising "mobility." Don't jump at the opportunity to discriminate against New Yorkers. Asymptomatic 'Americans' are the real problem here. . . and you won't even see them coming! Riddle me this: How will you know if a friend of a friend has been dating a high-risk area adjacent state member? It's a small world—after all. Ask China.
China did with willful intent spread this virus to the rest of the world once it was unleashed due to their incompetence
some in the most infected areas seem to suggest going to the areas opening up to try to sabotage the efforts. They have decreed that as long as they can’t open up no one else can either. It’s as if they are openly wishing us ill for doing so.
How many people drank Clorox or injected themselves with Lysol as the idiots that are the lamestream media tried to falsely claim that the President suggested?
Which is precisely what the Dems have doing since the get go. They're seemingly following the Rahm Rule..
don't let a crisis, or pandemic, or whatever....go to waste...if you can gain something political from it.
These people have been using it to promote the green new deal, socialized medicine, economic redistribution, statism, and constitution shredding, particularly religious liberty.
We started Phase 1 of phase 4 (Soft opening) Friday. So far the reports are good.
Tried to go to a DFW area Ace Hardware today. No lines to get in but the parking lot was jammed full.
If they had a cash register in the garden area we may have chanced it with masks, but they do not,
so we just drove through and went back to our local farmers market.
Still no stimulus check for me but the wife got hers April 15 and her Trump note last week, lol.
Daughter still never got her stimulus or any UI from FL, but was called yesterday and told to be at work Monday morning.
That's our best news in 6 weeks.
We never really shut down here, and as they are opening up, positive tests keep increasing...
Good to hear SP.
I ordered Olive Garden online yesterday and picked it up on the way to get the wife \from work. As I was sitting in the parking lot waiting, I saw several people in the dining area having dinner. I asked the girl who got my food if dining room was allowed and she said yes at 25 percent. Better than nothing.
Best part.....I will be able to get a haircut starting Monday. I will probably wait another week before I get one to let the wait times go down. I usually get mine on the navy base near my house and I can guarantee there will be a buttload of sailors and marines trying to get a cut.
Which really blows... but we live in a federalist country... so....
Sorry, I meant hospitalized.
Not really worried about testing. It only identifies who has already had it or those who are presymptomatic for quarantining.
I still cut my own.
Yesterday, Wallgreens, mostly empty, 1 of 5 wearing masks. Employees have masks around their necks.
Ace Hardware, too crowded to approach, no distancing - no lines outside.
Went to Farmers Market again. they have given up on the masks and cleaning the door everytime someone uses it - still wiping down the counter. Not one of 24 people wearing masks until, as we pulled out, two women approached in Cat masks.
Roads are still eerily empty.
Went to Kroger today, all of the employees are masked, maybe one of 10 shoppers. We ended up putting ours in our pockets - mine makes my glasses fog up.
Kohls was open, as was Michaels...
Roads still empty, but the teachers were all at the grade school today.
Lived around and on Naval Air Stations for a long time.
We live near DFW airport and the F35 plant.
When the Blue Angel streaked by the other day it was shocking how used to the quiet we have become.
Now maybe one 737 a day gets our attention, haven't seen a 35 or a 16 chase plane since they made a big deal out of delivering the 500Th back on March 3rd.
I keep seeing flat gray 737s with minimal markings in lots of small back print.
Navy, AF and Amazon are usually white......
Who knows.
Things are beginning to open up some here. There was a parade and rodeo in our county on mother’s day against the advice of county officials and the governor was going to put our re opening on hold but realized that if he punished us all for the few that we’d all rebel and defy like the three counties having done so so after a day delay we moved to the next stage of re opening. Traffic around here never did decline that much and a lot of the big box stores were essential and open. Places like Lowe’s, Walmart, Ace, Walgreens as busy as ever and some small businesses that were not people intensive like hair, nails, gyms, which did close but not essential either stayed open anyway and no one enforced. Now they are legal, and since our only indoor mall has a Sprouts grocery store it at least got some business. People in the Sacramento, Bay Area, and LA media were always critical of us for not staying home all the time and going outside to lakes, parks, national forest areas and said we’d have hell to pay later but that hasn’t happened yet and the only way it would is if they sent people from the more affected areas to enforce their big city rules upon us rural people.