Covid: the United States on a forced march towards reopening

Spring is back in the United States. On the calendar, but also in the minds. A year after the start of the pandemic, announcements are multiplying in the country to lift activity and traffic restrictions. So much so that Joe Biden now speaks of July 4, the national holiday, as the celebration of “independence from the virus”.

In New York, the epicenter of Covid-19 last year, the vaccinated are starting to issue dinner invitations and restaurants can fill their rooms to 50% of their capacity from this week – they were still closed at the beginning of February – and even up to 75% in the rest of New York State. The cinemas reopened ten days ago. Even theaters (100 people maximum, or even 150 with a systematic Covid test) and stadiums have resumed minimal activity, with strict health protocols and assistance limited to 15%.

Ticket with Covid test

Several sports franchises offer tickets including a compulsory Covid test at the entrance. An application has been developed which acts as a kind of passport: the user can store the results of his tests there and thus facilitate his entry into the entertainment areas. Only Broadway remains closed for the moment, although exemptions could be granted on a case-by-case basis for ephemeral shows.

In California, theme parks can reopen on April 1. In Texas, bars and restaurants are filling up. The State has even put an end to the wearing of the compulsory mask, a very controversial measure, and has set itself the goal of reopening to 100% as soon as possible …

Confidence regained

These reopenings augur a revival of the service sector, the most penalized by the pandemic. Hotels, restaurants, air carriers were the most weakened and the losses were considerable. Purchasing power will make it possible to respond to the offer. With the massive $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package signed Thursday by Joe Biden, most Americans will start receiving checks ($ 1,400 per person).

What to support their morale, while consumer confidence has already improved significantly in early March, according to the survey of the University of Michigan. Their savings rate has already been inflated by the previous $ 900 billion plan voted in late December.

Under pressure from parents, mayors and the White House, schools are also gradually reopening their doors everywhere. One in four students now only receive distance education, compared to one in three at the start of the year, according to the Burbio.com website . In New York, the mayor fired the head of education and replaced him with a Chancellor responsible for speeding up the reopening of schools.

In Los Angeles, an agreement was also reached with the main teachers’ union to reopen the doors of schools from mid-April. And states are gradually adjusting the constraints, like Nevada which has reduced the distance imposed between students, from 2 to 1 meter, to bring more children back to class.

Back to the offices

Some companies are also starting to plan to return to the office. Citi Bank has launched a home Covid testing program for its employees. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is impatient to bring his employees back to Manhattan’s business district.

As a sign of the ongoing normalization, even the very cautious Biden administration begins international travel. The Special Envoy on Climate, John Kerry, was in Europe in recent days and Secretary of State Antony Blinken is, earlier this week, in Korea and Japan.

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