Announcing plans to begin reopening his state, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster cited the ongoing economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic. “South Carolina’s business is business,” he declared this week as he lifted restrictions on department stores, florists, music shops and some other businesses that previously had been deemed nonessential. At the same briefing, the state’s chief epidemiologist, Dr. Linda Bell, seconded the importance of economic recovery but quickly inserted a note of caution: “The risk of exposure remains for everyone,” she said. It is a scenario playing out across the country as governors wrestle with weeks of quarantine-fueled job losses and soaring unemployment claims and the simultaneous warnings of public health officials who say lifting stay-at-home orders now could spark a resurgence of COVID-19. Meanwhile, as scattered groups of protesters have staged loud demonstrations in favor of rescinding quarantine orders, a recent public opinion poll finds that a majority of Americans believe it won’t be safe to stop following social distancing guidelines anytime soon. The dire hit to the economy is clear: Jobless numbers released Thursday show Depression-era levels of unemployment, with 1 in 6 American workers losing their job amid the pandemic. In South Carolina, more than 14% of the labor force has claimed to be out of work due to the outbreak. But most state leaders acknowledge they have not met many of the key benchmarks that federal guidelines recommend before reopening, such as having robust systems in place for testing and tracing the contacts of those who are positive for the virus. The difference in how governors are responding to that reality depends largely on their political party, with a handful of Republican leaders moving eagerly forward despite the discrepancies, while most Democratic governors have slammed on the brakes. McMaster and other Republicans, most notably Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, have pushed forward in accordance with President Donald Trump’s ongoing call to reopen the U.S. economy — only to have the president publicly question such actions. Late last week, Trump used Twitter to urge his supporters to “liberate” three states led by Democratic governors. But on Wednesday, Trump did an about-face, saying he “disagreed strongly” with Kemp’s aggressive plan to reopen restaurants, movie theaters, nail salons, barbershops, tattoo parlors, gyms and other close-contact businesses on Friday. Kemp is undeterred. Hair salons, bowling alleys and certain other businesses began opening cautiously on Friday, with more scheduled to open Monday under social-distancing guidelines. He, like McMaster, said he trusts people in the state to take the necessary precautions to stay safe and not further the spread of the virus. “I am confident that business owners who decide to reopen will adhere to minimum basic operations, which prioritize the health and well-being of employees and customers,” Kemp wrote in a tweet Wednesday night responding to the president’s criticism. In defending his decision, Kemp also has cited his state’s efforts to ramp up testing and tracing of the virus; Georgia ranks toward the bottom of per capita testing. McMaster has alluded to starting contact tracing efforts in South Carolina at some point, but has not elaborated. In Oklahoma, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said his decision to reopen barbershops, hair salons, spas and pet groomers as early as Friday is in line with the phased-in approach recommended by the White House and […]

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