Governors of about half a dozen U.S. states pushed ahead on Tuesday with plans to partially reopen for business despite warnings by some health officials that doing so prematurely could trigger a surge of coronavirus cases.
The easing of sweeping restrictions in Georgia, South Carolina and other states follows protests in Michigan, Pennsylvania, California and elsewhere to ease rules imposed during the pandemic that shut down businesses and largely confined residents to their homes.
"It's a matter of concern, this whole idea of opening up. It's based on non-science generated parameters," Dr. Boris Lushniak, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, told Reuters in an interview.
Georgia had shown seven days of declining case numbers, according to state figures, half of the 14 days recommended by federal guidelines.