FIRMS AGONIZE OVER REOPENING OR SHUTTING DOWN AS COVID CASES RISE

It’s not the reopening businesses were hoping for, US businesses say, as they pondered on the wisdom of opening up and shutting down again as the coronavirus pandemic worsens.

After months of shutdown, restaurants, stores and even amusement parks announced their reopening with fanfare. But now that states like Texas and Arizona are seeing alarming surges in reported cases of COVID-19, businesses large and small must decide whether to keep their doors open, Dee-Ann Durbin, Mae Anderson and Tali Arbel reported for the Associated Press (AP) on June 29, 2020.

In some cases, governments are pausing their reopening plans. On Friday, Texas and Arizona shut down bars except for takeout and scaled back restaurant dining capacity. Florida banned alcohol consumption at bars.

But many businesses had already taken those steps on their own, saying rising case numbers and shifting advice from state and local governments did not give them the confidence to stay open.