States are returning more and more coronavirus restrictions as vaccines become available and positive cases nationwide tend to decline.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to make an announcement soon on the removal of all nationwide orders, although no changes have been made yet.
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“We are now working to evaluate when we can remove all nationwide orders, and we will announce that soon,” Abbott, who has had a mandate for the entire mask since July, told reporters. Thursday during a news conference in Corpus Christi without giving a specific date.
People sitting at the bar of a restaurant in Austin, Texas, June 26, 2020. (Photo by Sergio FLORES / AFP)
In addition to the mask mandate, Abbott has issued several executive orders restricting certain business operations if businesses are based in areas with high hospitalization rates.
Positive COVID-19 cases rose in the state in January and have been steadily declining since then. About 7.4 million vaccines were distributed in the state while 3.5 million first doses and 1.7 million second doses were administered, according to the Houston Chronicle.
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Arkansas has lifted almost all of its restrictions, and a number of other states have already reopened completely, including Iowa, Missouri (with the exception of the entire state) and Flordia.
Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Friday lifted most of the security restrictions he imposed on businesses to curb the spread of coronavirus, saying he would end a mask mandate next month if the state’s positive or hospitalization is low. .
Hutchinson introduced the safety rules when he extended the public health emergency he declared last year due to the coronavirus pandemic until the end of March. The governor announced the move because he is being pushed back by some fellow Republicans in the legislature over the state’s virus security rules.
Government Asa Hutchinson, right, speaks in Little Rock, Ark. Hutchinson. (Staton Breidenthal / The Democratic Government Gazette of Arkansas via AP, File)
The limits being lifted include the capacity limits for pubs, restaurants, gyms and large venues. Hutchinson has opened up the possibility of reinstating the restrictions if there is another increase in cases.
Hutchinson said the mask mandate would be lifted by the end of March if the state’s positivity rate is below 10%, with at least 7,500 samples being tested on average daily. If the state tests fewer samples, the mandate will end if hospitalizations are among 750 patients.
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Arkansas has recently seen a decline in new cases and hospitalizations. Arkansas had a test positivity rate of about 10% as of Thursday. The state reported Thursday that 522 patients have been admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19.
The Iowa Republican government, Kim Reynolds, lifted all coronavirus restrictions on February 5 – including a mask mandate – in the state that was in effect before Thanksgiving, according to an emergency proclamation.
Reynolds has lifted all mandates related to masks, indoor and outdoor gatherings, and other business restrictions, while recommending that high-risk individuals and businesses continue to take the necessary precautions to stay safe.
The Iowa government’s Kim Reynolds has not said whether she intends to sign the bill. (Associated Press)
“I strongly encourage all businesses or other employers who remain open with personal activities to take reasonable measures under the circumstances of each institution to ensure the health of employees, patrons and members of the public, including social distancing practices, increased hygiene practices and other public health measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, ”reads the proclamation.
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Positive COVID-19 cases in the state rose in November after Thanksgiving and have since declined, according to the Iowa Department of Health. More than 680,000 doses of vaccines have been administered in Iowa.
In Missouri, Republican Gov. Mike Parson lifted all restrictions in June, including a mask mandate, while keeping a state emergency order in place so provinces could determine the best restrictions for their respective territories.
“It’s amazing to think about how far Missouri has come since March. At that point, no one knew what to expect. There was a lot of uncertainty, worry and concern,” Parson said in a June 11 statement. “Here we are today, just over 90 days since our first COVID-19 case in Missouri, and I am proud to say that we have overcome all these challenges and that we have met more than four pillars to reopen. make.”
Registered nurse Chrissie Burkhiser puts on personal protective equipment as she prepares to treat a COVID-19 patient in the emergency at Scotland County Hospital in Memphis, Mo. (AP Photo / Jeff Roberson, File)
These four pillars included extensive testing capability and volume; extensive reserves for personal protective equipment (PBT) through opened supply chains; continued monitoring of hospital capacity; and improved ability to predict potential outbreaks.
Missouri has also seen a progressive decline in cases since November, after Thanksgiving, and since June, cumulative mortality rates have declined. The state has recorded fewer than 1,000 cases a day in the past two weeks, Fox 2 St.
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According to the Department of Health, more than 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, including more than 186,000 in the past week.
Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis also announced in June that the state would not recall the stagnant operations, amid the country’s highest COVID-19 numbers, saying the return to the closing period would hurt the economy. paralyzed without saving lives.
“We are not going back, closing things,” DeSantis told reporters at the time, despite recording the highest COVID-19 case numbers in the country.
A Florida resident is vaccinated at the driveway at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Monday, February 22, 2021. (Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel via AP)
“I do not think that is what drives it,” the governor said of businesses remaining open. ‘People who go to a business are not what drives it. I think if you see younger people, I think it’s a lot more just social interactions, so that’s natural. You have, of course, had many different activities going on in different parts of the state … So that’s just the reality. ‘
DeSantis added that the doomsday predictions about coronavirus numbers in Florida are not off base, and urged young residents to “protect the vulnerable” by socially removing and hiding the elderly.
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“We are open, we know who to protect, but most people in that younger demographic, although we want them to be aware of what is going on, are simply far less at risk than the people in the country. older age groups, ”DeSantis added.
A comparison of similar COVID-19 trends in Florida and California with some of the highest numbers in the state, despite the fact that one part is mostly closed and the other completely open. The population of Florida is slightly more than half the population of California, but the two states have reported similar cases and mortality rates for their respective populations.
DeSantis’s popularity among the Republican Party has increased as a result of its decision not to close Flordia, and the state has seen an influx of new residents and even tourists amid the pandemic.
Ron Desantis (Getty Images)
“Our children are in school. Parents are happy with it. Our economy is growing. People are working. And they have predicted economic downturn, especially for Florida, because we are a tourism base and our tourism is by no means bad,” DeSantis said. Told Fox & Friends on Friday, adding that the Sunshine State “gets big revenue without tax increases.”
Other states are beginning to further ease mandates and restrictions on businesses, opportunities, and so on.
Fifteen states, including Florida, Iowa and Missouri, have either lifted or never enforced state-wide mask mandates, and it is up to provinces to enforce the rules, with Montana as the youngest state to do so.
Montana also lifted most business restrictions, such as restrictions on indoor events, in January under the leadership of its new Republican governor, Greg Gianforte.
Other states that have never implemented or lifted mask mandates include Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee. Arizona only needs masks in certain settings.
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Thirty-five states have eased at least some restrictions since last year – such as restrictions on personal learning and indoor dining.
States that have reversed some restrictions since 2020 include Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Maine. , Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming.
Associated Press and Fox News’ Brie Stimson and Gregg Re contributed to this report.