Coronavirus in the US: Live Updates

In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee, also a Republican, said that he was not extending his “safer-at-home” order that is set to expire on April 30. According to his office, “the vast majority of businesses in 89 counties” will be allowed to reopen on May 1. Businesses in Ohio are expected to reopen on that date as well.

And in South Carolina, the Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, said that department stores and some other retail businesses that had previously been deemed nonessential would be allowed to reopen on Tuesday but must abide by social distancing guidelines. People will also be able to gain access to public beaches on Tuesday.

Even as some governors pressed ahead with plans to reopen, other states and cities prepared for difficult days to come as new infections surged and hospitals prepared for an influx of patients.

At the White House briefing on Monday evening, Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator, noted that, “We still have a significant number of cases, both in the Boston area and across Massachusetts and Chicago.”

Even in areas where the number of new cases is beginning to flatten, it is doing so at a very high level: New York, which reported its fewest new cases in a month and its lowest one-day death toll in more than two weeks, still reported 4,726 new cases and had 478 new deaths on Sunday.

“The question is, how long is the descent, and how steep is the descent?” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said on Monday. “Nobody knows. Just as nobody knew how long the ascent was, nobody can tell you how long the descent is.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/us/coronavirus-updates.html