Skirmishes Between Local Leaders And State Officials Latest Battleground In Debate Over Reopening
Counties and towns in states that haven't been hit as hard as their metro-area neighbors are trying to convince governors that a one-size-fits-all approach for shut-down measures isn't fair. Meanwhile, as all 50 states start to lift restrictions, leaders look toward the government to recoup financial losses sustained in dealing with pandemic. And tourists towns brace for uncertainty heading into their — typically — busiest season.
Politico:
Reopening Tension Pits State, Local Officials Against Each Other In Sign Of What’s To Come
A growing number of local elected officials are writing their own reopening playbooks, defying state leaders in disputes that foretell months of new regional skirmishes as the nation moves to rekindle its smoldering economy. Mayors and county executives in rural regions where infection rates are lower than in denser, bigger cities say they’ve been unfairly held back from returning to a more normal way of life. Meanwhile, cautious officials who represent more vulnerable communities are fighting to prolong stay-at-home orders as governors, lawmakers or judges move to do the opposite. (Mays and Ward, 5/20)
CNN:
All US States Are Partially Reopen Leaving Americans To Weigh The Risk Of Venturing Out Again
For the first time since officials began implementing widespread lockdowns to slow the spread of coronavirus, all 50 states are now partially reopened. On Wednesday, Connecticut became the final state to begin lifting restrictions, now allowing retail shops and restaurants to reopen their doors. Despite the reopening milestone, health officials say, Americans remain at risk of catching the highly transmissible and sometimes deadly virus. (Maxouris, 5/20)
CIDRAP:
All States Approach Reopening As HHS Funds More Testing
As the end of May approaches, all 50 states will have begun the process of partially reopening their economies in the wake of 4-, 6-, 8-, or 10-week stay-at-home orders that mandated non-essential workers, schools, retail, and restaurants close in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. But at least 17 states in the past 7 days have showed an upward trend of new cases of at least 10%, according to a new CNN analysis that used data from the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker. (Soucheray, 5/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
States Step Up Reopenings, Hoping To Limit Economic Damage
U.S. states and governments around the world are trying to revive their economies after months of shutdowns, as they take tentative steps to ease restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus. State governments in the U.S. estimate the collective expense of fighting the pandemic at some $45 billion, which most want the federal government to repay in full, rather than be reimbursed at the 75% rate allowed under the law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said. (Yap, 5/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Can Choose Which States Get Coronavirus Payback From FEMA
Such widespread requests for reimbursement are unprecedented. FEMA is being flooded by requests from states across the nation, many with strained budgets, which now want to be made whole for deals made to buy supplies in a chaotic marketplace with middlemen charging inflated prices. FEMA typically receives requests for reimbursement from an individual state or a small group affected by disasters. President Bush, for instance, directed full reimbursement to Louisiana for certain projects after Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Trump directed full reimbursement, for a time, to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. (Levy and Pulliam, 5/19)
NPR:
Maryland Reports Largest Rise Yet In Coronavirus Cases 4 Days After Reopening
The Maryland Department of Health reported 1,784 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, setting a new high mark four days after the state began reopening its economy. Maryland is now reporting 41,546 cases, including nearly 2,000 people who have died from the disease. Along with the new positive tests, 5,368 people tested negative for the coronavirus in the 24 hours leading up to 10 a.m. ET — meaning roughly 25% of the 7,152 tests in that period resulted in positive diagnoses. (Chappell, 5/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
For Beach Towns, Coronavirus Means A Make Or Break Summer Starts Now
From Ocean City to the Jersey Shore to Cape Cod, the window between Memorial Day and Labor Day is make-or-break for hotels, restaurants, arcades and T-shirt shops. On top of potential concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, more than 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits, pinching disposable incomes. Mayor Rick Meehan says a speedy but safe reopening is vital for this town of 7,000 residents, which can swell to 300,000 visitors on summer weekends. “Just like the rest of the country, we’re in an economic crisis right now,” he said. (Calvert, 5/20)
The Washington Post:
This Wisconsin Tourist Town Has A New Draw This Year: Its Restaurants Are Open
This tranquil resort town on the shores of shimmering Geneva Lake has always beckoned as a kind of quiet Midwestern paradise, drawing people from all over the region, including those across the nearby Illinois state line. And over the weekend, as the skies cleared and the temperatures rose, the town came alive as it often does in spring, with cars and motorcycles snaking in off nearby Highway 12 in bumper-to-bumper traffic along Main Street. (Bailey, 5/19)
The Associated Press:
Bronx 'City Within A City' Shaken By Sickness, Fear
Tarhia Morton and her family were planning to party this year. She is retired after 40 years with the U.S. Postal Service. Her sister is turning 70. A birthday bash in Las Vegas was booked for August. That was before the coronavirus changed hers and so many other lives in the massive residential development in the COVID-19 battered Bronx known as Co-op City in which she lives. Before her mother was infected with it. Before medical examiners determined her father didn’t die from it — but only after she says his body was held at the hospital for 10 days after his March 27 death. (Mahoney, 5/20)
Reuters:
Administration Sees Washington, DC, Area As Ongoing Virus Problem Area
It is proving hard to reduce the number of coronavirus cases in the Washington, DC area, a senior administration official said on Tuesday, even though the nation’s capital is where the voices are loudest about the need for social distancing. The official, briefing White House reporters, said Washington and its metro area in Maryland and Virginia, as well as Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, remain on a virus “plateau” without a sharp decline in cases. (5/19)
The New York Times:
College In The Coronavirus Pandemic: No Fall Break And Home By Thanksgiving
As colleges make plans to bring students back to campus, alongside discussions of mask requirements and half-empty classrooms, one common strategy is emerging: Forgoing fall break and getting students home before Thanksgiving. The University of South Carolina, Notre Dame, Rice and Creighton are among the schools that have said they will find ways to shorten the fall semester, in an attempt to avoid a “second wave” of coronavirus infections expected to emerge in late fall. (Hubler, 5/19)
The Hill:
Virginia Governor Fires Back At Trump: 'I Suggest You Stop Taking Hydroxychloroquine'
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) fired back at President Trump Tuesday after the president referred to Northam as “crazy” and an opponent of Second Amendment rights. Trump, speaking at a White House event Tuesday, followed a speaker from Virginia by saying, "We're going after Virginia, with your crazy governor, we're going after Virginia. They want to take your Second Amendment. You know that, right? You'll have nobody guarding your potatoes." (Budryk, 5/19)
Boston Globe:
How To Stay Safe From Coronavirus As You Venture Out During Mass. Reopening
Do you still own clothes that aren’t sweat pants? Dust them off, because you can now leave home and go somewhere besides the grocery store for the first time in two months. With the expiration Monday of Governor Charlie Baker’s stay-at-home advisory and the unveiling of a reopening plan, Massachusetts residents can now make plans to visit hair salons, beaches, some offices, and houses of worship. You’re even allowed to have “limited” play dates, for yourself and your kids. (Moore and Martin, 5/19)
State House News Service:
Rep. Pressley: State 'Isn't Ready' For Phased Reopening
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley called on Gov. Charlie Baker to reconsider the phased reopening plan his administration rolled out Monday, writing on Twitter that the state "isn't ready to 'reopen'" and criticizing the view that public health needs and economic recovery are competing interests. (Lisinki, 5/19)
State House News Service:
Walsh Uncomfortable With State's Office Reopening Plan
With the state's economy beginning to wake up on Tuesday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he has no plans right now to lift the city's curfew and worries that allowing offices to reopen at a quarter of normal capacity next month might be "too much" to start, drawing one of the brightest lines between the city and state approaches to reopening. (Murphy, 5/19)
Stateline:
14-Day Quarantine Complicates Tourist Rentals
All over the country, states have instituted the two-week quarantine for hotels, inns, golf courses and other amenities to stop people from states with high COVID-19 infection rates from bringing the virus with them, sickening local residents and overwhelming medical facilities. But the requirements are devastating for people who rely on rental income from out-of-state tourists, especially those in New England or other northern climes with very short summer seasons. Even if visitors stay with a friend or relative, the 14-day quarantine means they can’t shop or go out for curbside pickup dining. (Povich, 5/20)
