As More States Ease Shut-Down Measures, Health Experts Warn They Could Suddenly Be ‘Back Where You Started’

The New York Times: U.S. Governors Move Ahead With Reopening, Despite Health Worries
Governors across the country forged ahead Monday with plans to reopen their economies, even as the nation hit a grim milestone of 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus and public health experts warned against lifting stay-at-home orders too quickly. Numerous states, including some of the largest, began the process of lifting shelter orders in what could be a pivotal stage in the U.S. response to the pandemic. Texas, with its population of nearly 30 million, made one of the most expansive moves toward reopening when Gov. Greg Abbott announced that retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls would be allowed to reopen with limited capacity on Friday. (Healy, Fernandez and Baker, 4/27)

The Associated Press: The US Reopening Is Coming, But 'Normal' Is Still A Ways Off
Everyone wants to know: When, oh when, will it go back to normal? As some governors across the United States begin to ease restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, hopes are soaring that life as Americans knew it might be returning. But plans emerging in many states indicate that “normal” is still a long way off. White House adviser Dr. Deborah Birx says social distancing will be with Americans through the summer. (DiLorenzo, 4/28)

Reuters: Georgia Eateries Welcome Diners Back As More U.S. States Ease Pandemic Shutdowns
Georgia, at the vanguard of states testing the safety of reopening the U.S. economy in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, permitted restaurant dining for the first time in a month on Monday while governors in regions with fewer cases also eased restrictions. (McKay, 4/27)

The Associated Press: Fears Of Virus Seem Far Away As Stores Reopen In Rural US
Traffic got a little busier along Main Street, but otherwise, it was hard to tell that coronavirus restrictions were ending in the tiny Montana town of Roundup. That’s because it’s largely business as usual in the town of 1,800 people. Nonessential stores could reopen as a statewide shutdown ended this week, but most shops in Roundup — the pharmacy, the hardware store, two small grocers — were essential and never closed. (Brown and Hanson, 4/28)

The Associated Press: Texas, Ohio Among Many States To Take Steps Toward Reopening
Restaurants opened up to dine-in patrons in at least three states Monday and the governor of Texas allowed movie theaters, malls and eateries to start letting customers trickle into their establishments later this week. Across the country, an ever-changing patchwork of loosening stay-home orders and business restrictions took shape Monday. (Snow, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: States Move To Ease Lockdowns As Global Cases Top 3 Million
After weeks of closures and social-distancing orders in the U.S., states from Mississippi to Tennessee to Colorado began to permit some businesses to reopen Monday, welcoming customers back and letting some employees return to work. Over the weekend, some businesses had resumed in Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska, Texas and South Carolina, with social-distancing measures in place. Retail stores, restaurants, malls, movie theaters, museums and libraries in Texas will be allowed to open Friday at 25% capacity, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday. He will allow a stay-home order now in place to expire Thursday. (Calfas, Findell and Purnell, 4/27)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Coronavirus In Ohio: What Is Gov. Mike DeWine's Plan For Reopening The State?
Many Ohioans will return to work next month, but work will look different with mandatory facial coverings or masks and lots of space between employees. Gov. Mike DeWine announced a three-phase plan to reopen some businesses that have been closed because of concerns about spreading the novel coronavirus. That plan includes restarting delayed medical procedures, a return to office work, reopening manufacturing plants and eventually allowing retail shops to reopen. (Balmert and Borchardt, 4/27)

The New York Times: Ohio’s G.O.P. Governor Splits From Trump, And Rises In Popularity
For 40 years, Mike DeWine rose steadily if blandly up the ladder of Ohio politics, finally landing his dream job as governor. He took office last year as a familiar figure in the state, not because of any indelible political identify, but because, at 72, he had been around forever. But the coronavirus crisis has made Mr. DeWine something that decades in elected offices never did: a household name. A Republican, he took early and bold actions to lock down his state, even as the head of his party, President Trump, dismissed the threat of the pandemic. (Gabriel, 4/28)

The Washington Post: New York Edges Toward Lifting Some Coronavirus Restrictions In Some Areas In May
Hard-hit New York edged toward lifting restrictions meant to limit the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus on Monday despite a shortage of testing, joining other U.S. states and some countries in Europe eyeing a gradual reopening, while the Trump administration said the federal government will only be a “last resort” source of critical virus tests. (Gearan and Wagner, 4/27)

NPR: Restaurants Open In Tennessee As State's Confirmed Coronavirus Cases Spike
Restaurants across Tennessee are able to welcome dine-in customers Monday for the first time in nearly a month as the state eases restrictions put in place to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. The step toward some semblance of normalcy comes a day after the state reported its highest single-day jump in newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, 478, which officials say represents a 5.2% increase from the previous day. (Booker, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: On West Coast, Counties Push Back Against Coronavirus Lockdowns
The commissioners of rural Franklin County, some 200 miles inland from Seattle, spelled out their defiance of Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order on a piece of paper in blue ink. It passed unanimously last week. “Franklin County is now open for Business!!!” commissioner Clint Didier wrote on Facebook with a photo of the motion, which called the order unconstitutional. Two days later, after Mr. Inslee’s office threatened legal action, the commissioners rescinded the motion. (Parti and Elinson, 4/28)

Politico: Newsom Chides California Beachgoers: 'We Can't See Images Like We Saw'
Gov. Gavin Newsom chided Californians who flocked to beaches over the weekend, saying they could delay an otherwise imminent start to reopening the economy. “We can’t see images like we saw, particularly on Saturday, in Newport Beach and elsewhere,” Newsom told reporters, adding that coronavirus “doesn't go home because it's a beautiful sunny day around our coasts.” (White, 4/27)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: Garcetti Says Some L.A. Stay-At-Home Rules Could Be Eased In Weeks
Mayor Eric Garcetti seemed optimistic that social distancing measures were proving effective and said he believed “the curve really is beginning to flatten,” even suggesting that easing restrictions under the city’s safer-at-home order could be weeks away. Testing capabilities were continuing to increase, according to Garcetti, who said asymptomatic essential workers including delivery, ride-hail and taxi drivers, as well as journalists, will now be able to be tested for the virus. (Queally and Shalby, 4/27)

CNN: Covid-19 Experts Say States Easing Restrictions Too Early May Increase The US Coronavirus Death Toll 
A leading coronavirus model has upped its predicted death toll again, this time projecting 74,000 Americans will lose their lives to the virus by August. The projection was adjusted due to longer peaks in some states and signs that people are becoming more active again, according to Dr. Chris Murray, the director of the University of Washington's Institute for Help Metrics and Evaluation. The model had previously forecasted 60,000 deaths from Covid-19. (Maxouris, 4/28)

The New York Times: ‘Quarantine Fatigue’ Has More People Going Outside
For more than a month, governors in a vast majority of states have urged people to stay indoors and away from one another, critical measures needed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But as the lockdowns drag on, the weather gets warmer and some states move to reopen, researchers at the University of Maryland have found that more people across the country are going outside, that they are doing so more frequently and that they are traveling longer distances. (Zaveri, 4/27)

Politico: Republican Firefight Kicks Off As Protesters Target GOP Govs Over Closures
Republican governors are facing a new challenge as they fight to stop the spread of coronavirus: pressure from their own right flanks. While the biggest protests calling for an end to stay-at-home orders and business restrictions have hit Democratic governors, conservative activists and groups are intensifying pressure on GOP governors they say are being too deliberative as their economies stagger and jobless rates spiral — part of a hyperaggressive effort on the right to reshape the debate over the financial ravages of Covid-19. (Cadelago, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: As Coronavirus Lockdowns Ease, WHO Urges Caution
More U.S. states and countries around the world began exiting coronavirus-related lockdowns, while the head of the World Health Organization warned that infections could be undercounted in some regions because of limits to testing capacity. Total confirmed coronavirus cases rose by roughly 20% over the past week to more than three million globally, while the death toll passed 211,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (Xie, 4/28)

The New York Times: Job Or Health? Restarting The Economy Threatens To Worsen Economic Inequality
Efforts to quickly restart economic activity risk further dividing Americans into two major groups along socioeconomic lines: one that has the power to control its exposure to the coronavirus outbreak and another that is forced to choose between potential sickness or financial devastation. It is a pick-your-poison fact of the crisis: The pandemic recession has knocked millions of the most economically vulnerable Americans out of work. Rushing to reopen their employers could offer them a financial lifeline, but at a potentially steep cost to their health. (Tankersley, 4/27)

The Associated Press: Companies Press For Limited Liability From Virus Lawsuits
As companies start planning their reopening in the coming weeks, business groups are pushing Congress to limit liability from potential lawsuits filed by workers and customers infected by the coronavirus. They appear to have the White House’s ear. President Donald Trump has floated shielding businesses from lawsuits. (D'Innocenzio and Tucker, 4/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Shelter-In-Place Orders Will Be Extended To End Of May 
Health officials in six Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley said Monday that orders to shelter in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus will be extended through the month of May. In a joint statement, officials in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and Berkeley, which has its own health department, said a new round of health orders would “largely” keep current restrictions in place, but would also “include limited easing of specific restrictions for a small number of lower-risk activities.” (Fracassa, 4/27)

West Virginia Gazette-Mail: Justice Unveils Six-Week Plan For Gradually Reopening State
Gov. Jim Justice on Monday unveiled a six-week plan to reopen West Virginia in phases, each contingent upon three consecutive days of daily positive COVID-19 test rates of 3% or less. “We’re going to begin our comeback,” Justice said at his daily COVID-19 briefing Monday. The governor stressed that the reopening plan will not mark a return to normalcy but to a new normal until an effective treatment or vaccine is developed for COVID-19. (Kabler, 4/27)