Welcome back to Robertson’s Reportings! This week may have some good news for those wanting to get back into the daily routine. In Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, a few major restrictions have been removed. Georgia is allowing the most freedom. While people are still asked to stand six feet apart, restaurants, gyms, bowling alleys, hair and nail design studios, and other businesses will open on Friday, April 24. The shelter and place order will expire at the end of the month and not be renewed. In the meantime, a select number of North Carolina and Florida beaches have reopened. Additionally, the Texas governor controversially stated that people should be taking risks because the economy must reopen, as the economy is “crushing” workers and businesses.

New York Governor Cuomo stated on April 21, “The overall curve is on the way down, and that’s good news certainly.” Charts of COVID-19 cases show that most states have already seen the peak of newly reported cases per day. Hopefully, the rest of the globe that has not seen the curving point will see it soon. In Florida, a task force for reopening the state was formed by Governor Ron DeSantis. Members of the tourism industry in Florida, including the president of Walt Disney World and the CEO of Universal Studios, are part of the task force. Not only have theme parks been harmed by their own closures, but the hotel industry has been hit hard too. Over the past six weeks, Florida hotels have seen a $1.6 billion drop in revenue. 

As of April 22, 39 states have extended K-12 school closures until the end of the school year, allowing students only to work from home. Even bordering states to North Carolina have seen these closures, including Virginia and South Carolina. However, many states on the East Coast have not given up yet. New York, one of the hardest hit states, has extended its stay-at-home order until May 15, but schools are not officially closed for the time after that. The deciding factor will be what happens in the next three weeks.

See you next time on Robertson’s Reportings, coverage you can count on!