The moves in several states are risky, given that while cases and hospitalizations have declined dramatically in recent weeks, they are still at alarmingly high levels, and are showing signs of spiking up again.
While vaccinations are starting to help reign the pandemic back under control, they are not yet widely available, leaving a crucial period of perhaps a couple of months until increases in vaccine supply can create a larger dent in the pandemic and help ease a return to normal.
The Biden administration on Friday raised new alarms about the need to keep restrictions in place. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said at a White House briefing that data indicates recent declines in cases “may be stalling” in a “very concerning shift in the trajectory.”
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“Things are tenuous,” she stated. “Now is not the time to relax restrictions.”
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The White House is avoiding a face-off with governors by failing to call out specific states easing restrictions too soon. However, Andy Slavitt, the White House senior adviser for the coronavirus response, made it clear their advice contradicts several states recently moving ahead with downgrading lockdown measures.
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“We couldn't say it in stronger terms: We think it is a mistake to take our foot off the gas too early, especially when we are accelerating our vaccination efforts right now,” he indicated his dismay Friday.
Governors on both sides of the aisle are beginning to loosen restrictions, though Republicans have generally been more aggressive.
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In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on Thursday announced that there will no longer be any capacity limits on restaurants, and that indoor performance venues like concert halls can reopen at 50 percent capacity starting next week.
Republican governors in Iowa and Montana lifted statewide mask mandates earlier this month.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) revealed on Thursday that he is considering removing all statewide coronavirus orders, including the mask mandate.
“We’re working right now on evaluating when we’re gonna be able to remove all statewide orders, and we will be making announcements about that pretty soon,” Abbott said, as reported by The Texas Tribune.
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In a more modest step, Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday eased some limits, allowing bars at 30 percent capacity and restaurants at 50 percent.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) allowed indoor dining to reopen at 25 percent capacity in New York City ahead of Valentine's Day.
“Bluntly, yes they are risking yet another spike,” William Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said of states lifting restrictions.
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“Cases have been dropping, but you have to remember that has been the case in the presence of these mandates,” he concluded. “As you change to allow more contacts along which transmission can happen, more transmission will inevitably happen.”
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