VIRGINIA, USA — Across the country, the pressure to reopen states is growing as people seek a return to normalcy.
Now, the big question: how far do COVID-19 cases have to drop before state governors feel comfortable reopening?
Ray Scheppach, a public policy professor at the University of Virginia spent many years as Executive Director of the National Governors Association.
He said you can expect state governors across the country to err on the side of caution before lifting restrictions, including here in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“The decision to open up is a lot more difficult than the decision was to shut down, and so that’s what they’re grappling with now,” said Scheppach.
Scheppach said in some states, governors have moved into groups to coordinate their plans for reopening.
"There's a lot of commuting back in forth in some states, they need to coordinate it. So what you see in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, it doesn’t make sense for New York to do that independently of the others," said Scheppach.
"You also find that being coordinated with adjoining states is helpful because all of the staff talk with each other and they can learn from other states. The third reason you're seeing it is that they're fearful they're gonna get in a real confrontation with the president and they feel that they're stronger in groups or states of pushing back against the president if he were to increase the pressure on them opening up."
On Friday afternoon, Governor Northam rolled out a set of guidelines for reopening in phases.
Under Northam’s plan, he will begin easing restrictions on businesses while following CDC guidelines and having adequate testing, medical equipment and contact tracing.
Northam’s plan moving forward is a sharp contract from Georgia, where businesses like gyms and hair salons reopened Friday morning.
Scheppach said the Georgia governor’s decision to reopen early may impact the steps other state governors decide to take moving forward.
“It depends on what happens [in Georgia], if he doesn’t get a surge in infections in the next two to three weeks, then it is gonna put pressure on other governors,” said Scheppach.
“Georgia already has a fairly high rate. If they see a surge in the next couple of weeks, it’s gonna send a signal to other states that they better be a little bit more cautious about opening up.”
Scheppach said people want some sort of certainty on when exactly Virginia will reopen.
But don’t hold your breath on it. This won’t happen soon or overnight.
“When I was at the Governors Association, we did a lot on crisis management. Governors really feel responsible for the health and welfare of their citizens so they’re gonna continue to be somewhat cautious,” said Scheppach.