More COVID-19 Unrest

In the American states that have been the last holdouts in terms of

announcing dates when their economies will reopen during the coronavirus epidemic, unrest is rising Friday.

While the epidemic continues its lethal and volatile path through the U.S., so too are the economic casualties piling up, with more than 33 million People requesting unemployment aid since the closures began.

The vast majority of states have given businesses the green light to begin reopening in hopes of mitigating the damage, with some going so far as to allow retail stores, restaurants and hairdressers to start serving customers in limited capacity again.

But other holdouts like New York and Washington, despite revealing phased plans to do so, remain locked up indefinitely, for the most part.
Gov. Tom Wolf declared on Friday in Pennsylvania that 13 western counties, including the metropolitan area of Pittsburgh, will be allowed to reopen slowly next week, joining 24 counties in the northern part of the State. Beaver County, the only western county left back, is home to a major nursing home epidemic in which hundreds of patients have died and a congressman is calling for an investigation.

At a news conference on Friday, Beaver County officials blasted Wolf’s decision, saying the entire county shouldn’t be forced to stay shut down because of the issues at a single facility. Meanwhile, the Beaver County District Attorney said he did not want local police to enforce the suspension of companies, nor will he prosecute violators.

“Our business owners and residents cannot become prisoners in our own county,” said Daniel Camp III, chairman of the Beaver County Board of Commissioners, calling Wolf’s decision to keep Beaver locked down “unwarranted and irrational.”

Wolf accused Beaver County officials of “threatening lives” and said the rage towards him by local officials is misdirected.

New Jersey,another holdout reopened last week, its parks and golf courses. Yet the exact date remains unknown as from Friday.

Protests broke out in Maryland over the weekend with some calling on Gov. Larry Hogan to remove the state’s stay-at-home order and restrictions, which as of this Friday remain in place for many industries and companies throughout the state with no definite end date in sight.

Beaches in Maryland allowed to reopen in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic Beaches in Maryland allowed to reopen in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. More states continue to reopen in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic.

And in New York — which has experienced the most deaths in any nation state from coronavirus — Gov. This week Andrew Cuomo outlined a set of criteria that each region must fulfill before phase one of its opening plan can begin. The soonest possible reopening of any area is May 15, as the stay-at-home orders of the State expire on that date. But certain regions are held up simply because they lack the degree of testing Cuomo is searching for, leaving people to wonder how long it will take to reach the standard.