08 Jun How is every state in the US reopening?

time, it is most important to remain educated on what guidelines you should follow.With all of this madness going on during quarantine, a lot of states in the United States have given more information about possible reopening dates and when they expect things to go back to normal. Every state that has given dates, new rules or notices all have specific dates for that state and it is very important to pay attention to your state as well as the surrounding ones. That being said, public health professionals have come out and stated the great chance of a spike in new cases of COVID-19 once these restrictions are pulled back and people start to get back to their usual lifestyles. Let’s take a look at the news recently from each state in alphabetical order.

Alabama is now partially opened and the stay-at-home order ended April 30th. Now, there are stores open like hair salons, diners and retail stores. Other stores or places like a movie theatre where there are close interactions with a large number of others are still closed and no news has been revealed for when these businesses are to be open. Alaska now has no restrictions for its state as it was fully opened on May 22. Places such as gyms, restaurants, salons and entertainment businesses are now back to full operations. The state of Arizona is not fully open. The only places that are not open are businesses like bars, but there are restaurants that are. Arkansas actually has very close to the same restrictions as Arizona on what exactly is reopening and what is not.

The next state to look at in order is California. California being one of the largest and most populated states in the United States makes you think there needs to be some rules in effect to limit the spread of COVID. California does in fact still have places closed like many other states that limit large gathering places like gyms, salons, bars, etc.  Colorado has an amount of restrictions still present. They are currently enforcing businesses like gyms, salons and bars to remain closed just like California. Connecticut is currently enforcing their restrictions very strictly. They only have restaurants and smaller retail stores open. It was reported that around June 1st, the state will allow beauty salons and businesses in that field to re-open. Smaller states like Delaware still have large restrictions on re-openings. Majority of the open businesses are takeout restaurants, retail stores and some local beach destinations are open to the public where social distancing is still strongly encouraged. 

Washington D.C. is still on high alert and has many restrictions still in play. The majority of all businesses are closed and they have been slowly opening up takeout restaurants and educational stores. Florida has been on the lesser strict side with restrictions being forced. The state currently has almost all businesses open besides nightlife locations like bars and clubs. On May 18th, the majority of businesses were allowed to reopen. The state of Georgia currently has the same tactic as Florida, being only opposed to the re-openings of bars and clubs at this point in time. For a state as isolated as Hawaii, they do in fact have a good set of restrictions in play.  On May 7th, they allowed retail stores & businesses to reopen. They are still strict on large gathering areas but look to be finding a possible opening date as soon as it is safe to do so. 

Idaho as well is following the same trend as Georgia and Florida. Areas and venues of large gatherings are restricted from opening but small diners with limited seating are open for business. Illinois allowed retail businesses to open on May 1st. That being said, places like clubs, bars, diners, exercise classes/gyms are all closed and no word has been said on a possible reopening date. Indiana has various restrictions based on different areas within the state. Most of the counties within Indiana are at “stage 3” and the rest of the state’s counties are reported to go to stage 3 around June 1st. The state still restricts places like bars, clubs and large gathering venues from opening. Hair salons and restaurants are currently allowed for reopening. 

Iowa is also in the same boat as most states and is only restricting places like clubs and bars from reopening. This seems to be the major trend from all the states we have covered so far, Obviously, mayors statements from state to state will vary, but most states seem to be opening up retail stores and restaurants and mainly restricting large gathering venues and areas. The state of Kansas allowed large gathering venues to reopen on the 22nd of May. That includes casinos, restaurants (dining in), and exercise facilities like gyms. Kentucky has reported to be in the same boat as most states also and mostly restricting bars and clubs from opening. They too allowed exercise facilities and movie venues to reopen on the 1st of June. 

Both Louisiana and Maine have both followed the same paths and are limiting the large gathering venues and businesses from reopening within the state. The state of Maryland has announced retail stores and stores that offer appointments to reopen. The majority of businesses such as gyms or personal care have been informed to remain close. The state of Massachusetts announced on May 25th that limited capacity stores & businesses could reopen such as salons, retail stores, etc. Michigan is following the typical trend of only restricting places like gyms, theatres and large gathering venues from reopening. Minnesota has enforced a major set of rules. The only type of stores open for business are retail stores. Gyms, theatres, salons, etc. are closed. Clubs, bars, large seating venues are completely shut down for Mississippi. 

Missouri takes a completely different path and has almost all types of stores back open for business. Montana has followed this same route as Missouri. Since the 15th of May, the majority of stores have opened back up for business. Nebraska & Nevada are in the same process of opening their states back up. Mostly places like clubs and bars remained closed within these states. Up north in New Hampshire the same rules for bars and clubs apply. The state announced on the 18th of May that restaurants that offer dining outdoors were allowed to do so. 

Looking toward the east coast in a state as New Jersey, the majority of stores remain closed. Mostly retail stores are the only options for shopping this time. New Mexico follows the same path of allowing retail stores to remain open and restrict the rest of businesses for the most part as does the state of New York as well. North Carolina has informed that large gathering areas will be closed till the 26th of June. This includes bars, theatres, etc. North Dakota has few restrictions in place. The only businesses restricted from opening are large gathering events. Ohio has stated that only bars/clubs and close venues are still restricted at this time and will open at a later date but there has been no word on this yet. Oklahoma has followed this same path as well. Few rules have been set in place. Oregon’s structure is identical to most as areas with large numbers of people are restricted and no date has been announced on when these could reopen. Pennsylvania has been a unique state with their rules and regulations. Only certain retail stores have reopened and this drastically varies depending on the county and region within the state. Puerto Rico has allowed beaches to reopen. Restaurants have also been open for some time and the state seems to be more relaxed with their restrictions over the past few weeks. Rhode Island is also restricting large gathering venues and only allowing typical retail stores to remain open like the majority of the states within the United States. 

South Carolina and South Dakota have both been very lenient with rules and do not have strict rules set into place at this time. Tennessee has mild restrictions and since the 22nd of May, restaurants have been reopened for business. Down south in Texas, salons, gyms and most retail stores have been allowed to reopen. For such a large state, their restrictions have been very lightly enforced. Utah has the same type of restrictions and seems to be close to fully reopening soon. There has not been a largely enforced order at all within the state. Vermont follows the same path as most states have in this time. States like Virginia and West Virginia have both implemented average rules. The majority of businesses still closed are in the nightlife scene. Wisconsin and Wyoming both follow this model as well. A Lot of states seem to be taking this time either very lightly or greatly enforcing their rules. Please remember to always review what rules and regulations are being implemented for the state in which you live. During this