The pain of the coronavirus shutdown, in terms of wrecked economies and shattered lives, has been unmistakable. Now, governors across the country are contemplating the risks of reopening, particularly if it produces a surge of new cases and deaths.
“This is really the most crucial time, and the most dangerous time,” Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, a Republican, said on the CNN program “State of the Union” on Sunday. “All of this is a work in progress. We thought it was a huge risk not to open. But we also know it’s a huge risk in opening.”
State officials said that pressure was building to revive commerce and to chart a path for states to stagger back toward a semblance of normalcy, and some were already discussing plans for starting school in the fall.
The push to reopen has been fueled by swelling frustration, as unemployment soars, businesses declare bankruptcy or announce they cannot survive the shutdowns, and fears intensify about enduring economic devastation. Some businesses have even reopened in defiance of state orders. One salon owner in Salem, Ore., incurred $14,000 in fines for violating a stay-at-home order.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat, said on CNN, “I deeply understand the stress and anxiety that people have, that entire dreams have been torn asunder because of the shutdowns, their savings account depleted and their credit ratings destroyed.”
“The question is,” he added, “how do you toggle back and make meaningful modifications to the stay-at-home order?”
But governors also acknowledged concerns about a fresh resurgence of the coronavirus, and they are haunted by images of restaurants and stores packed with patrons with uncovered faces.
“This is a virus we’re still learning a lot about,” Mr. DeWine said. “We don’t know a great deal about it. We know more today than we did two months ago, three months ago.”
The response to the coronavirus has been defined by the balance between trying to curb the virus’s spread and trying to minimize the economic harm. In much of the country, the pendulum has swung toward favoring the economy.
The shift has come as the national figures for reported new cases of the virus have declined in recent weeks, and as more states have allowed a wider array of businesses to return to operation. More than two-thirds of states have relaxed restrictions significantly. California, New York and Washington are among those partially reopening on a regional basis. Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey remain fully shut down.
As of Friday, daily counts of new cases were decreasing in 19 states and increasing in three, while staying mostly the same in the rest, according to a database maintained by The New York Times.
In an appearance on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” Alex M. Azar II, the health and human services secretary, challenged the framing of the debate as a balance between health and economic concerns.
“It’s actually health versus health,” he said, taking note of the mental health fallout as well as the reduction in cardiac procedures, cancer screenings and vaccinations for children during the pandemic. “There is a real, a very real health consequence to these shutdowns that must be balanced against as we try to reopen this economy and move forward.”
Still, public health experts expect reopening to bring about increases in the numbers of coronavirus cases. On Saturday, Texas reported its largest singe-day spike during the pandemic, with 1,815 diagnoses. Officials attributed it to an outbreak in the Texas Panhandle and to increased testing. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, let his stay-at-home order expire on April 30 and permitted retail stores, restaurants and other businesses to reopen this month.
Governors contend that they are better prepared now for possible increases in cases, with more testing capacity and stockpiles of protective equipment. Officials have also said that they can respond in a more focused way, zeroing in on hard-hit areas.
In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves moved last week to ease his “safer-at-home” order to allow the reopening of tattoo parlors and to lift a ban on fishing tournaments, while also adding restrictions in seven counties that had an unusually high rate of cases per capita.
“The next phase,” Mr. Reeves, a Republican, said in a recent news conference, “is to take a surgical approach, rather than a sledgehammer, to this disease.”
Each official move sets off dominoes of decisions for business owners, who are weighing whether to reopen, and for residents, who are unsure if they should venture out. And that has directed more attention to the figures for new cases and deaths that are reported by state officials.
In Colorado, some were raising concerns after officials there changed the way the state reports its figures. On Friday, they began drawing a distinction between “deaths among Covid-19 cases” and “deaths due to Covid-19,” the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Before then, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment had been including anyone who had Covid-19 at the time of death in the official total, a practice consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s counting criteria. By that reckoning, Colorado had 1,192 deaths as of Friday.
But the state said it would henceforth also report a second figure — for deaths in which the disease is considered the sole cause, with no other complicating factors — that was significantly lower: 892.
Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, defended the change on Sunday.
“The C.D.C. criteria include anybody who died with Covid-19,” he said on Fox News. “What the people of Colorado and the people of the country want to know is how many people died of Covid-19.”
Health experts have warned for weeks that inconsistent reporting protocols and insufficient testing have led to an undercounting of coronavirus deaths nationally. Alabama and North Dakota have both experimented with death counts similar to Colorado’s new tally, while continuing to also report the C.D.C.’s way.
“We wanted to make sure we reported it out in a better way, to inspire confidence, so it wouldn’t be politicized,” Mr. Polis said.
In some places, businesses, houses of worship and other organizations are refusing to reopen just yet. Several dozen pastors and faith leaders in Charlotte, N.C., declared they would not resume in-person services, even though a federal judge ruled on Thursday that such services could be held.
Missouri was among the states pressing ahead with reopening. Gov. Michael L. Parson, a Republican, began allowing an array of businesses to resume operating beginning on May 4, and the city of St. Louis is allowing more businesses, including bars, to reopen on Monday.
Even so, some businesses in the state have expressed frustration over rules that can vary from city to city.
Parrish Lamb, who oversees 14 Missouri locations of a chain of boutique fitness studios, said his business had to untangle a hodgepodge of regulations. “There are nine locations that we have here in St. Louis County that we really haven’t been given any information on,” he said, “other than just an indefinite closure for the time being.”
The chain he works for, Orangetheory, opened four of its studios in the region this month, and he said that many regular customers were eager to return. “There’s a pent-up demand for people wanting to get back at it,” Mr. Lamb said.
Business owners said that, in a way, they also confront the same problem that governors do: the need to restore their livelihood comes with an increased threat for themselves and their workers.
Businesses have increased sanitation protocols and mandated social distancing and temperature checks. They are also giving masks and gloves to employees. At Mr. Lamb’s gyms, some amenities have not been restored, like showers, which could spread the virus.
At Valenti’s Delicatessen and Marketplace in St. Charles, Mo., an egg timer rings every 15 minutes. It’s a signal that the deli’s eight staff members must, no matter what, wash their hands.
Joe Ancmon, the owner of Valenti’s, said his business had to adapt swiftly to stay alive, including, despite some hesitation, signing up with delivery apps and getting new permits for the parking spots needed to offer carryout service. “We’ve been adjusting on the fly,” he said.
The deli had to adjust once again for the return of customers to the store, which was allowed in St. Charles, a city of roughly 65,000 people on the Missouri River. There are tape markers on the floor showing customers how far apart to stay, and seating capacity, usually 49, has been reduced by about 75 percent.
To Mr. Ancmon’s relief, the customers have come.
“We’re just a small little New York-style deli,” he said, “and people were calling this morning and saying, ‘Hey, can I reserve a table for two?’”
Rebecca Halleck contributed reporting.
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