ATLANTA (Reuters) – A variety of services prepared on Thursday to reopen in Georgia and a handful of other U.S. states for the first time in a month, as another week of huge unemployment claims highlighted the grim economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic.
FILE IMAGE: Two males stroll down a ramp to the parking lot for The University dining establishment days prior to the phased reopening of organisations and restaurants from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. April 22,2020 REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
From Tennessee and Texas to Ohio and Montana, states around the country have actually announced strategies to resume over the next two weeks. Their plans have actually drawn criticism from health experts and some governors who alert that a premature easing of stay-at-home guidelines could trigger a surge in coronavirus cases.
Georgia Republican Politician Guv Brian Kemp has cleared the way for health clubs, hair salons, bowling alleys, and tattoo and massage parlors to restart on Friday, followed by theater and restaurants next week. South Carolina began to alleviate restrictions on Monday. Florida opened a few of its beaches last Friday.
Business owners were reacting to the lifting of limitations in greatly different ways.
Michael Sponsel, 39, owner of Liberty Barber in the Old Fourth Ward community in Atlanta, Georgia, stated he planned to keep his store closed.
” No chance is it safe,” Sponsel said. “Not for my barbers, not for my clients. We took a look at the numbers and they do not look excellent.”
Georgia has recorded almost 850 de