Debate over state lockdowns and stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

---

These pages were updated from March 2020 through June 2020 and do not contain the latest commentary available. To submit arguments for inclusion on this page, email editor@ballotpedia.org. To learn how Ballotpedia decides which arguments to feature, click here.

---

Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive coverage of how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting America's political and civic life. In addition to monitoring federal, state, and local responses to the coronavirus, we are also capturing the nationwide and local debates on whether to extend or lift coronavirus-related restrictions affecting the economy, schools, government operations, public health, religious services, and travel.

These arguments come from a variety of sources, including public officials, journalists, think tanks, economists, scientists, and other stakeholders. We encourage you to share the debates happening in your local community to editor@ballotpedia.org.

This article covers the national debate over state lockdown or stay-at-home orders, and when and how to lift their restrictions. You will find the following:

• Debate over state lockdowns
• Debate over reopening plans
• Debate over testing
• Debate over hospital capacity
• Debate over federal and local authority
• Debate over economic impact
• Debate over societal impacts of shutdowns
• Links to state-specific debates
• Background on changes to election dates and procedures

Debate over state lockdowns

• Yinon Weiss (Real Clear Politics): 

  "In the face of a novel virus threat, China clamped down on its citizens. Academics used faulty information to build faulty models. Leaders relied on these faulty models. Dissenting views were suppressed. The media flamed fears and the world panicked. That is the story of what may eventually be known as one of the biggest medical and economic blunders of all time. The collective failure of every Western nation, except one, to question groupthink will surely be studied by economists, doctors, and psychologists for decades to come." - "How Fear, Groupthink Drove Unnecessary Global Lockdowns," May 21, 2020.

• Robert I. Field, professor of health management and policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University (The Philadelphia Inquirer): Professor Robert I. Field argued that testing, contract tracing, medical treatment, and, in general, strong public health measures were necessary to successfully open the economy because without confidence in public health, the public wouldn't return to normal activity regardless of the absence of lockdown orders.

  "Today, it is public health that will support recovery from the economic devastation of COVID-19 lockdowns. Reopening state economies without measures like testing, contact tracing and disease tracking risks waves of disease resurgence that could lead to even greater economic disruption and the need for new lockdowns. Business won’t return to anything approaching normal until the public is reassured that it is truly safe to venture out, and only continued public health support and guidance can provide that reassurance. As we have learned over and over in the past, economies need strong public health foundations to grow and thrive. No one benefits if our reopened economy is built as a house of cards." - "Should the U.S. favor public health or the economy? History shows they’re inseparable.," May 26, 2020.

• Dr. Bill Miller, the senior associate dean for research at Ohio State University's college of public health (NPR): 

  "I'm definitely worried. As places have been opening up, many people are taking it as a message that everything is OK and back to normal. I'm definitely worried that we're going to see some upswings, maybe not everywhere, but in many places across the country." - "U.S. Hits 2 Million Coronavirus Cases As Many States See A Surge Of Patients," June 10, 2020.

• Kerbie Joseph, a housing activist (CNN): Kerbie Joseph, a housing activist, argued that the economic effects of the pandemic are making it especially difficult for many to pay rent and that the stimulus payments and eviction moratoriums haven't been sufficient.

  "In saying 'cancel the rent,' we're saying cancel not only the rent during this period -- which, we have no idea when this period will end, right? But also cancel all debt related to that rent. Meaning, cancel it, and we don't owe you anything." - "The US already had a housing crisis. Covid-19 has only made it worse," May 20, 2020.

• President Donald Trump (R) (The Independent): On May 19, President Donald Trump (R) signed an executive order stating that "agencies should address this economic emergency by rescinding, modifying, waiving, or providing exemptions from regulations and other requirements that may inhibit economic recovery."

  "I'm directing agencies to review the hundreds of regulations we've already suspended in response to the virus and make these suspensions permanent where possible. I'm also instructing agencies to use the emergency authorities to speed up regulation cuts or new rules that will create jobs and prosperity and get rid of unnecessary rules and regulations." - "Trump announces executive order ‘suspending’ regulations impeding US economy," May 20, 2020.

• Scott Rasmussen (Just the News): Scott Rasmussen discussed a Just the News poll about whether business owners that violate coronavirus-related orders should lose their licenses or serve jail time.

  "The fact that only 42% are willing to back government officials on the enforcement of these laws is pretty stunning. When 42% side with the rule breakers and another 16% aren’t sure, it is a very strong indication that voters believe the rules themselves are the real problem. Putting it in the context of America’s founding ideals, this finding suggests that the lockdown orders do not have the consent of the governed." - "Poll: 42% of voters back canceling licenses or jailing business owners violating coronavirus orders," May 19, 2020.

• J.D. Tuccille, contributing editor at Reason (Reason): Top-down state lockdowns created conflict during the pandemic.

  "Free to make their own decisions relative to local conditions and personal preferences and without risking fines or arrest, Americans would still have suffered, but they would have had less reason to resent one another. They may have even been inclined to sympathize with the plight of those living differently than themselves and forced to make hard choices. The next time a crisis comes along, we'll be well-advised to cut government officials out of the decision-making process. That will allow us to make the choices we think right for ourselves, and to respect the contrasting decisions made by others." - "In Future Crises, Let People Make Their Own Decisions," May 29, 2020.

• Umair Irfan, Vox writer (Vox): Data from two studies show that lockdown interventions--and early implementation--made big impacts in limiting Covid-19 spread.

  "It will likely be much harder to reimpose pandemic interventions if cases spike again, but it’s not clear what strategy will ultimately prove successful." - "2 new studies show shutdowns were astonishingly effective," June 9, 2020.

• Maura Calsyn, Emily Gee, Thomas Waldrop, and Nicole Rapfogel (Center for American Progress): "We are just now starting to see how these early interventions can disrupt the spread of the virus. Over the upcoming weeks, evidence will continue to build that these steps are, in fact, helping to flatten the curve. Halting social distancing efforts now would not only allow further spread of COVID-19, but it would also cause even greater long-term economic damage than continuing with social distancing in the short term, as more cases and deaths occur, fear grows, and hospitals become more overwhelmed. State and local governments must keep these lifesaving temporary policies in place." - "Social Distancing To Fight Coronavirus: A Strategy That Is Working and Must Continue," March 25, 2020.

• George Mullen, a principal of StudioRevolution.com (Times of San Diego): "This economic shutdown is a new government experiment, and a dangerous one at that. And it is doubtful it will work. Furthermore, do Americans understand that most of us will ultimately be exposed to this virus anyway? The goal is only to 'flatten the curve,' meaning slow the spread so our healthcare system can keep up. An actual vaccine is at least a year off. I don’t doubt the seriousness of the pandemic. However, I can’t help but think about the cost of this economic shutdown, based on the fact that tens of millions of livelihoods are in the midst of being eliminated. Will all — or any — of these millions of soon-to-be-gone jobs return? It’s unlikely." - "Economic Suicide by Shutdown Will Not Cure the Coronavirus," April 6, 2020.

• President Donald Trump (R) (RealClearPolitics): "Instead of a blanket shutdown, we will pursue a focus on sheltering the highest risk individuals. So important. We are establishing clear scientific metric and benchmarks on testing new case growth and hospital capacity that must be met before advancing to each phase, and that is each phase specifically in the reopening of our country. This is a gradual process. As the caseload in a state continues to go down, restrictions can continue to be eased and come off. Throughout the process, citizens will continue to be called upon to use all of their weapons in this war; vigorous hygiene, teleworking when possible, staying at home if you feel sick, maintaining social distance, sanitizing commonly used surfaces, and being highly conscious of their surroundings. Those are our weapons and they are very powerful weapons, indeed." - "Trump: "Instead Of A Blanket Shutdown, We Will Pursue A Focus Of Sheltering The Highest Risk Individuals"," April 16, 2020.

• Richard Rahn, senior fellow at the Cato Institute (Washington Times): "To put it another way, last year, among the roughly 50 million Americans 65 or older, there were 2,067,400 deaths. According to the latest CDC model, about 40,000 Americans 65 or older will die as a result of COVID-19, less than 2 percent of those who would die if there were no virus. Most of those in the 65-plus age who die are the oldest, 80 and above, with underlying conditions, and who have very short additional life expectancy. So, why is the government shutting down the entire economy to lengthen the average life span of the oldest Americans by a few months at most? Yes, there are a few young people who will be infected and tragically die, but the odds of this happening to any given individual are so small as being almost impossible to measure with any certainty." - "Stop the COVID-19 shutdown madness," April 13, 2020.

• Conor Friedersdorf (The Atlantic): "If we knew that a broadly effective COVID-19 treatment was imminent, or that a working vaccine was months away, minimizing infections through social distancing until that moment would be the right course. At the other extreme, if we will never have an effective treatment or vaccine and most everyone will get infected eventually, then the costs of social distancing are untenable. We don’t know where we sit on that spectrum. So we cannot know what the best way forward is even if we place the highest possible value on preserving life and protecting the vulnerable. That uncertainty means, at the very least, that Americans should carefully consider the potential costs of prolonged shutdowns lest they cause more deaths or harm to the vulnerable than they spare." - "Take the Shutdown Skeptics Seriously," May 10, 2020.

• Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney (The Hill): "We've overreacted a little bit. [...] Not to say that COVID is the ordinary flu, that’s not my point. But my point is that almost 100,000 people died two years ago from flu and the country didn’t shut down. It’s time to sort of deal with this in the proper perspective, and that’s to allow us to get back to work safely." - "Mulvaney: 'We've overreacted a little bit' to coronavirus," May 26, 2020.

• Robby Soave, senior editor of Reason (Reason): "Individuals should feel empowered to make choices about which activities are important enough to incur some exposure to COVID-19 and possibly spreading it to someone else, whether that activity is reopening a business, going back to work, socializing with friends, or joining a protest against police brutality. Health experts can help inform these choices. But they can't declare there's just one activity that's worth the risk." - "Public Health Experts Have Undermined Their Own Case for the COVID-19 Lockdowns," June 4, 2020.

Additional reading

• "Policy and Punditry Need to Adapt to New Virus Data" - Real Clear Politics, May 3, 2020

• "Covid-19 lockdowns could drop carbon emissions to their lowest level since World War II. But the change may be temporary" - CNN, May 19, 2020

• "Women suffering steeper job losses in COVID-19 economy" - The Hill, May 25, 2020

• "Journalists and politicians love science, but traffic in fear" - The Hill, May 29, 2020

• "As police protests grow, so do coronavirus risks" - San Diego Union-Tribune, June 5, 2020

• "Pavlich: The betrayal of health 'experts'" - The Hill, June 10, 2020

• "Unnecessary lockdowns created social turmoil, global suffering" - Real Clear Politics, June 11, 2020

• "Infuriating: We may have shut down the country for nothing" - Washington Examiner, June 8, 2020

• "Our Liberties Have Value Too" - Cato Institute, March 31, 2020

• "Are All Of These Lockdown Orders Legal?" - Hot Air, March 21, 2020

• "We need an immediate five-week national lockdown to defeat coronavirus in America" - USA Today, March 21, 2020

• "Trump is lying — keeping the lockdown won't kill more people than coronavirus, and I have the economic proof" - The Independent, April 16, 2020

• "We’ve been in lockdown for a month. Why are so many still testing positive for coronavirus?" - NJ.com, April 16, 2020

• "Far-right US politicians label lockdowns anti-constitutional" - ABC News, April 14, 2020

• "Three Charts Show How Important COVID-19 Countermeasures Are" - Mother Jones, April 11, 2020

• "Coronavirus lockdown 'unnecessary'? Some Israeli researchers think so" - The Jerusalem Post, April 20, 2020

Debate over reopening

• Robert I. Field, professor of health management and policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University (The Philadelphia Inquirer): Professor Robert I. Field argued that testing, contract tracing, medical treatment, and, in general, strong public health measures were necessary to successfully open the economy because without confidence in public health, the public wouldn't return to normal activity regardless of the absence of lockdown orders.

  "Today, it is public health that will support recovery from the economic devastation of COVID-19 lockdowns. Reopening state economies without measures like testing, contact tracing and disease tracking risks waves of disease resurgence that could lead to even greater economic disruption and the need for new lockdowns. Business won’t return to anything approaching normal until the public is reassured that it is truly safe to venture out, and only continued public health support and guidance can provide that reassurance. As we have learned over and over in the past, economies need strong public health foundations to grow and thrive. No one benefits if our reopened economy is built as a house of cards." - "Should the U.S. favor public health or the economy? History shows they’re inseparable.," May 26, 2020.

• David A. Graham (The Atlantic): 

  "[P]ublic opinion is astonishingly united behind social-distancing measures. Across party lines and geographic regions, Americans think that caution is prudent and restrictions are smart. They believe wearing a face mask is more about public health than personal choice. And they hold these views even, or especially, when it means personal sacrifice. [...] The haste to reopen, in defiance of medical expertise, economic data, and public opinion, is thus peculiar. The most obvious possibility is that it is a testament to the power of the presidential bully pulpit and intense media coverage." - "Why Are the States Reopening? The public overwhelmingly supports continued social-distancing measures.," May 23, 2020.

• Megan L. Ranney and Jessica Gold, health professionals (STAT): Advocates for reopening the economy should not use anxiety, mental health, and suicides as reasons.

  "We would love nothing more than to see these politicians advocating for community cohesion; helping provide personal protective equipment for frontline health care workers; creating new tools to help reduce hunger; helping women have economic independence so they can leave abusive partners; and funding novel solutions to isolation and loneliness. But, ironically, those who are quickest to cite deaths of despair as a reason to reopen the country are too often the last to vote to fund research and services that could prevent them." - "Don’t use ‘deaths of despair’ as rationale for reopening the country too soon," May 31, 2020.

• The Editorial Board (The Charlotte Observer): 

  "You can exercise your right not to go where they are required. But don’t whine about freedom when a retail store decides to take measures to protect employees and customers, as businesses have done for many decades. Don’t channel your inner Patrick Henry when your state or local government tells you masks are necessary at a beach or other public spaces." - "Just wear the stupid mask," May 7, 2020.

• Mark A. Griffin, president of the Michigan Petroleum Association and the Michigan Association of Convenience Stores (Detroit News): 

  "If we allow convenience stores to be sued out of business, particularly those that have made every effort to protect their customers and employees, it's the people in our community that will suffer. . . Convenience stores’ ability to continue operating is threatened by potential COVID-19 related litigation just for staying open. Even if unfounded lawsuits get thrown out, the legal fees alongside the decrease in revenue could mean the end for stores across the state." - "Opinion: Essential businesses face threat of unwarranted lawsuits," May 27, 2020.

• D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (The Hill): AFL-CIO sues Labor Department to force Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue "mandatory, legally-enforceable, COVID-19-specific rules to protect workers." D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejects the lawsuit.

  "In light of the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the regulatory tools that the OSHA has at its disposal to ensure that employers are maintaining hazard-free work environments ... the OSHA reasonably determined that an ETS [emergency temporary standard] is not necessary at this time." - "Appeals court rejects AFL-CIO lawsuit over lack of COVID-19 labor protections," June 11, 2020.

• Virginia Postrel, a Bloomberg opinion columnist and author (USA Today): 

  "Whatever reopening takes place in response to the double-standards argument will also spread the disease. Letting businesses and their patrons decide for themselves what risks to take may be justified, even necessary. But it doesn’t make the risks disappear. We are about to see what happens when hundreds of millions of people suddenly exit quarantine." - "Coronavirus doesn't care about public opinion and it still kills," June 9, 2020.

• Dr. Bill Miller, the senior associate dean for research at Ohio State University's college of public health (NPR): 

  "I'm definitely worried. As places have been opening up, many people are taking it as a message that everything is OK and back to normal. I'm definitely worried that we're going to see some upswings, maybe not everywhere, but in many places across the country." - "U.S. Hits 2 Million Coronavirus Cases As Many States See A Surge Of Patients," June 10, 2020.

• Alan Keck, Mayor of Somerset KY (New York Times): 

  "Local leaders should be empowered to advance their economies when risk-mitigation efforts have proved effective. When these strategies, combined with consistent testing, stabilize the number of new cases, it demonstrates we’ve done our part to flatten the curve. We can protect lives while also preserving livelihoods. My administration has chosen to weigh the consequences of inaction — and we know there is risk in every decision we make. But we deserve better." - "I’m Mayor of a Small City in Kentucky. We Can Safely Reopen," June 9, 2020.

• Joel M. Zinberg, M.D., J.D., a senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute (Washington Examiner): Dr. Joel Zinberg argued that the existing sweeping measures in place are causing economic damage and that in order to have both public and economic health the nation must tailor its policies to protect the most vulnerable populations but let others less at risk go back to work.

  "Sweeping public health measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, such as banning large gatherings, travel restrictions, closing all but essential businesses, closing schools, and “social distancing” for the entire population, have “flattened the curve.” But they are also flattening the economy, destroying millions of jobs and thousands of businesses. If they are maintained for much longer, we will suffer a deep and prolonged recession. ... Tailoring health measures to the realities of COVID-19 is a first step toward restoring and protecting our physical and economic health." - "How to reopen the economy with a reality-based approach," April 27, 2020.

• Adam White, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (American Enterprise Institute): New definitions and regulations are needed in post-Covid-19 world.

  "In writing those standards, lawmakers should listen to health experts and business owners to understand what precautions are necessary and reasonably expected in terms of cleaning surfaces, checking temperatures, screening at-risk populations, monitoring employees’ family health situations, requiring people to wear masks or other gear, or other precautions. No law can be written with perfect clarity, but lawmakers need to reduce uncertainty as much as possible, to incentivize good behavior and deter unmerited lawsuits." - "To reopen economy, Congress must redefine rules for business liability in coronavirus era," May 30, 2020.

• Group of doctors (Reason): A group of scientists and doctors sent a letter to the Editorial Board of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences criticizing a study regarding the effectiveness of masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus and saying that the study's conclusions that "airborne transmission represents the only viable route for spreading the disease" and the ineffectiveness of social distancing, quarantine, and handwashing recommendations was misleading and harmful.

  "While masks are almost certainly an effective public health measure for preventing and slowing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the claims presented in this study are dangerously misleading and lack any basis in evidence." - "Prominent Researchers Say a Widely Cited Study on Wearing Masks Is Badly Flawed," June 22, 2020.

• Govs. Gavin Newsom (D), Kate Brown (D), and Jay Inslee (D) (Bloomberg): The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington said they could not lessen stay-at-home orders until they had sufficient testing and contact tracing processes. - "Volunteer Army, Millions of Tests Needed to Open the West Coast," April 17, 2020.

• Nancy Pelosi (D), speaker of the U.S. House (RealClearPolitics): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) said that public health measures—testing, contact tracing, treatment, and quarantine—were the key to opening up the economy sooner. - "Pelosi: What We Have To Do Is Shelter In Place... Quarantine Is The Answer To Opening Our Economy," April 19, 2020.

• Avik Roy, president of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (The Wall Street Journal): Avik Roy, the president of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, said the United States should move away from using public health milestones to determine when to reopen. Instead, reopening strategies should focus on which demographic groups are most susceptible to the coronavirus. Roy said businesses should reopen with healthy, non-elderly employees returning to work. - "Reopening the U.S. Economy Even if the Pandemic Endures," April 24, 2020.

• Fred Guterl, executive editor of Scientific American (Newsweek): "Epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch of Harvard and his colleagues recently performed a computer analysis of how SARS-CoV-2 was likely to behave after lockdown is lifted, which the journal Science published on Tuesday. The authors found that loosened restrictions would almost certainly produce a rebound later in the year. A false sense of security during the summer months in northern states such as New York and Michigan, where the virus might be less active during the summer heat, could lead to a spike in cases in the autumn or winter that's even more severe than the one we're only now recovering from." - "Donald Trump says America will open up but scientists predict we'll be back in lockdown again. Here's why.," April 17, 2020.

• University of Warwick (CAGE Ressearch Centre, University of Warwick): "In any general release from lockdown it is probable that fatalities among 50-year olds would be twenty times more than among 20-year olds, and that among 60-year olds the fatalities would be approximately fifty times as great as among those in their early 20s. Therefore any lockdown release policy that does not design itself around the extreme ‘age gradient’ in human coronavirus risk is likely to have dangerous consequences for citizens." - "Age, death risk, and the design of an exit strategy: A guide for policymakers and for citizens who want to stay alive," April 30, 2020.

• Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) (CBS Philly): "[W]e’ve got to let some of these folks get back to work, because if we don't, we're going to destroy the American way of life in these families — and it will be years and years before we can recover. The message is that the American people have gone through significant death before. … We sent our young men during World War Two over to Europe, out to the Pacific, knowing, knowing that many of them would not come home alive. And we decided to make that sacrifice because what we were standing up for was the American way of life. In the very same way now, we have to stand up for the American way of life." - "Chris Christie Pushes For Country To Reopen, Says ‘There Are Going To Be Deaths No Matter What’," May 5, 2020.

• Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) (Business Insider): "If we leave this purely up to the physicians' and the epidemiologists' data we will be locked in our houses for another year because they don't want us to be doing anything other than staying in our homes until there's a vaccine. Of course, everybody wants to save every life they can — but the question is, towards what end, ultimately?" - "Chris Christie says 'there are going to be deaths no matter what' from coronavirus, but Americans need to get back to work," May 5, 2020.

• Dr Chandra Ford, a UCLA professor and the director of the Center for Racism, Social Justice and Health (The Guardian): "The choice of governments to circumvent science to advance this cause of reopening falls on the backs of people of color, the poor and immigrants. It is more than reckless. You can’t run a business when you aren’t breathing." - "'We're expendable': black Americans pay the price as states lift lockdowns," May 25, 2020.

• Russ Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (Real Clear Politics): "The unique thing about this president is that his approach is fundamentally different than the way Washington thinks. He understands that in order for Americans to get back to work and ultimately have more freedom to live their lives, deregulation is key. It’s the American people, small businesses, churches, and communities who will jumpstart the Great American comeback — not the government." - "Trump Is Having a Deregulatory Moment," May 22, 2020.

• Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney (The Hill): "We've overreacted a little bit. [...] Not to say that COVID is the ordinary flu, that’s not my point. But my point is that almost 100,000 people died two years ago from flu and the country didn’t shut down. It’s time to sort of deal with this in the proper perspective, and that’s to allow us to get back to work safely." - "Mulvaney: 'We've overreacted a little bit' to coronavirus," May 26, 2020.

• Fred Kaplan (Slate): "Several recent studies have suggested that masks may be the single biggest impediment to the spread of the coronavirus. What’s new in the data about the demonstrations is that social distancing may be much less important, may be not much of a factor at all—at least if the crowds wear masks and the crowding takes place outdoors." - "It Doesn’t Look Like the Protests Are Causing a COVID-19 Spike," June 17, 2020.

• Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital (ABC News): "There are dangers in messaging that pushes an 'out of the woods' narrative. Yes, gains have been made in public health preparedness, but we still need the support of the public to keep to reducing virus transmission." - "Coronavirus ‘second wave’ debate ‘misses the whole point,’ experts say," June 18, 2020.

• Jarrett Bell (USA TODAY): "Colleges sure looked to rush back to workouts too soon, while the NFL canceled all of its on-field work and kept its players largely out of team headquarters (except for injury rehab cases), while the NFLPA has taken it a step further and advised the players from staging their own voluntary workouts. The NFL is easing into the process of re-opening, bringing coaches and other staffers back under the umbrella of strict guidelines. The deliberate approach that Goodell is driving seemingly allows for a better chance to reduce the spread when it will really matter in a few weeks." - "NFL leadership pressed to prove worth with challenge of coronavirus pandemic," June 21, 2020.

• Issues & Insights Editorial board (Issues & Insights): "Not only has the disease already claimed many of the most vulnerable in this country, there are also millions who now have antibodies. The combination means that even if there are lots of new cases going forward, the death toll is likely to be far less severe than it has been." - "Coronavirus Cases Are Climbing Again. So What?," June 23, 2020.

Additional reading

• "As America reopens, prepare for a flood of coronavirus workplace lawsuits" - CNBC, May 20, 2020

• "Reopening tension pits state, local officials against each other in sign of what’s to come" - Politico, May 20, 2020

• "Increase Testing? More Funding? COVID-19 Debate Continues." - Spectrum News 1, May 23, 2020

• "We should be grateful for good news in Georgia" - The Week, May 21, 2020

• "America’s reopening is dangerous. Canada has a better idea." - Vox, June 2, 2020

• "The way Trump reopened economy will likely spur a second wave of COVID-19" - Miami Herald, June 6, 2020

• "Lawsuits threaten to derail economic recovery" - The Hill, June 7, 2020

• "Trump endorses ending coronavirus social distancing soon, against health experts’ advice" - The Washington Post, March 23, 2020

• "No, Mr. Trump, you don’t get to decide when the economy restarts" - Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2020

• "Reopening the Economy, at Last" - Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2020

• "National coronavirus response: A road map to reopening" - American Enterprise Institute, March 29, 2020

• "Trump and Allies Push Toward Reopening Economy. But Governors Urge Caution." - The New York Times, April 12, 2020

• "When do we open up the economy?" - Yahoo! Money, April 16, 2020

• "Public health officials push back on May opening" - The Hill, April 10, 2020

• "‘It doesn’t make any sense’: Alabama restaurant owners call opening in April ‘unrealistic’" - AL.com, April 18, 2020

• "The data is in — stop the panic and end the total isolation" - The Hill, April 22, 2020

• "A Simple Idea to Help Reopen America" - RealClearPolitics, April 22, 2020

• "Republicans' self-defeating rush to reopen states" - The Week, April 22, 2020

• "Compared With China, U.S. Stay-At-Home Has Been 'Giant Garden Party,' Journalist Says" - NPR, April 29, 2020

Debate over testing

• Paul Romer, an economist at New York University (Vox): Paul Romer, an economist at New York University

  "Suppose you run the test. If it comes back positive, you’re going to treat it like they’re positive. If it comes back negative, you’re probably going to say ‘it was a false negative and we gotta presume this person is positive’ and do the same thing. So what’s the point of the test?" - "Should we bother testing people with coronavirus symptoms?," May 7, 2020.

• Robert I. Field, professor of health management and policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University (The Philadelphia Inquirer): Professor Robert I. Field argued that testing, contract tracing, medical treatment, and, in general, strong public health measures were necessary to successfully open the economy because without confidence in public health, the public wouldn't return to normal activity regardless of the absence of lockdown orders.

  "Today, it is public health that will support recovery from the economic devastation of COVID-19 lockdowns. Reopening state economies without measures like testing, contact tracing and disease tracking risks waves of disease resurgence that could lead to even greater economic disruption and the need for new lockdowns. Business won’t return to anything approaching normal until the public is reassured that it is truly safe to venture out, and only continued public health support and guidance can provide that reassurance. As we have learned over and over in the past, economies need strong public health foundations to grow and thrive. No one benefits if our reopened economy is built as a house of cards." - "Should the U.S. favor public health or the economy? History shows they’re inseparable.," May 26, 2020.

• Michael Hochman, the director of the Gehr Family Center for Health Systems Science and Innovation at Keck (STAT): 

  "Asymptomatic spread is contact tracing’s Achilles’ heel. Even if testing the entire population was able to identify silent carriers, there would be a delay in putting this information to use because testing wouldn’t occur continuously and there would be a lag in test results. This is particularly true since SARS-CoV-2 readily spreads during a short interval of a few days, typically in the early stages of infection. Even with testing every two weeks and a 24-hour lag in results, universal testing would catch less than half of asymptomatic carriers during their most infectious period. According to a model developed by Imperial College London and the World Health Organization, based on these optimistic assumptions the impact of universal Covid-19 testing would reduce the number of Covid-19 cases by less than 10%. More conservative (and realistic) parameters would suggest a smaller impact." - "Testing everyone for Covid-19 doesn’t make sense. We need to test smarter, not harder," May 15, 2020.

• Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics (Harvard University): The Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University estimated daily testing needed to significantly increase for a safe reopening. As part of that process, the Center said the country should phase in economic mobilization as testing capacity grows.

  "We need to deliver 5 million tests per day by early June to deliver a safe social reopening. This number will need to increase over time (ideally by late July) to 20 million a day to fully remobilize the economy. We acknowledge that even this number may not be high enough to protect public health. In that considerably less likely eventuality, we will need to scale-up testing much further." - "Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience," April 20, 2020.

• Veronique De Rugy (Reason): Paul Romer, an economist at New York University, argued that testing patients with the symptoms of the coronavirus is not valuable.

  "The large number of rules lifted by federal, state, and local governments in response to this pandemic reveals the sad reality that many regulations serve little to no good public purpose. Hopefully, people will realize how counterproductive these rules were and will not allow them to be reinstated after the crisis is over. In the end, we'll all be freer and safer." - "Coronavirus Puts Counterproductive Regulations Into Perspective," April 2, 2020.

• Govs. Gavin Newsom (D), Kate Brown (D), and Jay Inslee (D) (Bloomberg): The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington said they could not lessen stay-at-home orders until they had sufficient testing and contact tracing processes. - "Volunteer Army, Millions of Tests Needed to Open the West Coast," April 17, 2020.

Additional reading

• "Increase Testing? More Funding? COVID-19 Debate Continues." - Spectrum News 1, May 23, 2020

• "Escaping the coronavirus lockdown with test and trace" - NBC News, April 13, 2020

• "There Aren't Enough Coronavirus Test Kits to Safely Reopen America, Experts Warn" - U.S. News & World Report, April 27, 2020

Debate over hospital capacity

• John Hinderaker, president of Center of the American Experiment (Power Line): John Hinderaker said COVID-19 hospitalizations were fewer than originally projected, making the effort to flatten the curve excessive since hospital resources were not overwhelmed.

  "During last year’s flu season, according to the CDC, 490,561 people in the U.S. were hospitalized due to the seasonal flu virus. The prior year, it was 810,000 flu hospitalizations. This explains why, as we noted here, America’s hospitals have not been overwhelmed by the number of Wuhan flu sufferers, not even in New York City. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations falls well within the natural variability in flu hospitalizations that we always see from year to year. Once again, government officials are making decisions with catastrophic effects on many millions of lives, on the basis of models that have proved to be wrong. The shutdowns should end tomorrow." - "We Never Needed to Flatten the Curve," April 14, 2020.

• Charles Branas, chair of the Epidemiology Department at Columbia University (Politico): "Perhaps there are governors who believe they have the medical capacity to deal with this [without a lockdown order]. But I don’t know if that is wise, because once it gets out it can spread unabated and overwhelm any medical system of any size. Every state is at risk and should have aggressive social distancing policies." - "Hot spots erupt in farm belt states where governors insist lockdowns aren’t needed," April 15, 2020.

• Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Science): "We projected that recurrent wintertime outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 will probably occur after the initial, most severe pandemic wave. Absent other interventions, a key metric for the success of social distancing is whether critical care capacities are exceeded. To avoid this, prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022. Additional interventions, including expanded critical care capacity and an effective therapeutic, would improve the success of intermittent distancing and hasten the acquisition of herd immunity." - "Projecting the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 through the postpandemic period," April 14, 2020.

Debate over federal and local authority

• Heritage Foundation (Heritage Foundation): "Because of the geographic size and population of the United States, decisions about specific infection-control policies such as 'shelter in place,' isolation and 'lockdown' quarantine orders are best left to state governors and local officials who, in consultation with public health professionals, have a more complete understanding of the situation and needs in their communities. Restrictions should be carefully managed at the appropriate level, with decisions based on the current and anticipated situation, guided by expert advice from all relevant disciplines. The federal government shall be responsible for international and domestic travel restrictions." - "Government Responses in a Time of Pandemic: Principles That Guide Us," March 26, 2020.

• Bradley Moss, attorney (NPR): "It is unclear, absent congressional approval or every state in the union collectively agreeing to it, how any president would have the authority to impose a federal or national quarantine." - "A Blanket National Quarantine Is Likely Not Legal," April 2, 2020.

Debate over economic impact

• Tulsa World Editorial Board (Tulsa World): The Tulsa World Editorial Board said that federal stimulus money should be directed to rent subsidies to avoid mass evictions after the pandemic.

  "The clearer solution is to avoid the need for mass evictions by making landlords whole. Using existing federal funding to protect landlords and tenants is a good idea, if it can be engineered within the stimulus law. We’ve certainly seen discussions for using the money for things that are far less urgent and which would relieve far less human misery." - "Editorial: Officials must prevent humanitarian catastrophe of post-pandemic mass eviction," June 8, 2020.

• Vivian Ho - Baker Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice University and professor at Baylor College of Medicine (The Hill): Chief executive officers must proactively offer expertise, funding, technology and support to gov't entities to slow Covid-19 spread and revive economy.

  "Public health officials with robust testing, contact tracing, and widespread safety measures around the world are winning the COVID-19 battle. But America’s state and local public health offices are starved for resources. Corporate America has the wealth and expertise to help fight the disease, and it must do so quickly." - "CEOs need to do more for COVID," June 22, 2020.

• Andrew Yang (USA Today): "Universal basic income would give parents, caregivers and teachers a raise and begin to recognize the real work being done in our homes and schools every day." - "Andrew Yang: After coronavirus, we can build economy that works for all Americans," May 27, 2020.

• Mohamed A. El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz SE (Bloomberg Opinion): "By continuously intervening in market pricing or taking policy rates negative, or both, the Fed would risk creating not just additional distortions but also 'zombie markets' — that is, markets that no longer send accurate price signals and that fail to play an efficient role in mobilizing and allocating capital. This undermines productivity, hurts the potential for growth and risks financial instability." - "Fed Should Resist Market Pressure to Do More," May 31, 2020.

• Desert News Editorial Board (Desert News): "The idea is sound. Even the world’s largest economy, with the world’s most stable reserve currency, can’t go on printing an infinite amount of dollars without impacting its ability to fund programs, promote growth or stave off inflation." - "In our opinion: Massive government doesn’t come without consequences," May 19, 2020.

• Art Laffer, economic adviser to President Ronald Reagan (Fox Business): "Economics is working beautifully and this administration has done a great job and I expect with the payroll tax waiver, we’ll get a real jump-start and get right back to normal very quickly." - "US economy recovering from coronavirus lockdowns 'very rapidly'," June 18, 2020.

Additional reading

• "You can’t turn the economy back on like a light switch: Magical thinking on the economy won’t make things the way they were before." - Vox, May 21, 2020

• "The Pandemic Is Transforming the Rental Economy" - Wired, June 8, 2020

Debate over societal impacts of shutdowns

• Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary (Real Clear Politics): Dr. McCance-Katz argues that lockdowns need to be lifted before the nation's mental health suffers.

  "A life lost to suicide is just as important as a life lost to coronavirus," - "Meet the Psychiatrist Telling Trump That Lockdowns Are Deadly," June 2, 2020.

• M.B. Pell and Benjamin Lesser, journalists for Reuters (Reuters): M.B. Pell and Benjamin Lesser outlined the negative effects social distancing and an economic downturn would have on domestic violence cases, education, suicide rates, and job loss-related mortality. - "How the COVID-19 lockdown will take its own toll on health," April 3, 2020.

• Timothy Carney, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (Washington Examiner): "First, amid this policy-induced isolation, we should worry about deaths of despair. People need connection and community. Isolation kills in many ways. We don’t have data that the lockdowns are causing more suicides, but plenty of health experts believe they will. People struggling with drug addiction are finding it harder to get the treatment they need. This could cause relapses and eventually, death." - "The coronavirus is killing thousands. So is the lockdown," May 4, 2020.

Additional reading

• "Studies show mounting deaths and mental health harm from shutdown" - Washington Examiner, May 11, 2020

• "As America reopens, prepare for a flood of coronavirus workplace lawsuits" - CNBC, May 20, 2020

• "The Stress Pandemic" - RealClearPolitics, April 16, 2020

• "Whoopi Goldberg To Chris Christie: Who Are You Willing To See Die In The Name Of Reopening The Country?" - Hot Air, May 15, 2020

State-specific debates

Many debates over responses to the coronavirus pandemic are unique to individual states and localities. Select a state below to read about debates in that state.

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Background

See also: States with lockdown and stay-at-home orders in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Lockdown orders by state

Forty-three states issued statewide shelter-in-place, stay-at-home, closure, or shutdown orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The map below highlights states that issued a stay-at-home order.

We classified New Mexico's stay-at-home order as active through November 30 because of the following language in the state's health orders since March: “all New Mexicans should be staying in their homes for all but the most essential activities and services.” In practice, New Mexicans were permitted to leave their homes for a broad range of activities, even if it was not recommended.

With the November and December wave of new, stricter coronavirus orders, we decided to end our stay-at-home coverage to work on building comprehensive coverage of practical restrictions.

State details

The table below includes the states that issued a statewide order, the dates of the order, and a link to the executive order.

Statewide lockdown orders, 2020
State	Order dates	Link to order	Official name of order
Alabama	April 4- April 30	Link	Suspend certain public gatherings
Alaska	March 28 - April 24	Link	Shelter-in-place
Arizona	March 31 - May 15	Link	Stay home, stay healthy, stay connected
Arkansas	None	N/A	N/A
California	March 19 - August 28	Link	Shelter-in-place
Colorado	March 26 - April 26	Link	Stay-at-home
Connecticut	March 23 - May 20	Link	Stay Safe, Stay Home
Delaware	March 24 - May 31	Link	Stay-at-Home
Florida	April 2 - May 4	Link	Stay-at-home
Georgia	April 3 - April 30	Link	Shelter-in-place
Hawaii	March 25 - May 31	Link	Stay-at-home
Idaho	March 25 - April 30	Link	Stay home
Illinois	March 21 - May 29	Link	Stay-at-Home
Indiana	March 24 - May 1	Link	Stay-at-home
Iowa	None	N/A	N/A
Kansas	March 30 - May 3	Link	Stay home
Kentucky	March 26 - June 29	Link	Stay healthy at home
Louisiana	March 23 - May 15	Link	Stay-at-Home
Maine	April 2 - May 31	Link	Stay-at-home
Maryland	March 30 - May 15	Link	Stay-at-home
Massachusetts	March 24 - May 18	Link	Stay-at-home advisory
Michigan	March 24 - June 1	Link	Stay Home, Stay Safe
Minnesota	March 27 - May 17	Link	Stay-at-home
Mississippi	April 3 - April 27	Link	Shelter-in-place
Missouri	April 6 - May 3	Link	Stay Home Missouri
Montana	March 28 - April 26	Link	Stay-at-home
Nebraska	None	N/A	N/A
Nevada	April 1 - May 15	Link	Stay-at-home
New Hampshire	March 27 - June 15	Link	Stay-at-home 2.0
New Jersey	March 21 - June 9	Link	Stay-at-home
New Mexico	March 24 - November 30	Link	Stay-at-home
New York	March 20 - June 27	Link	New York State on PAUSE
North Carolina	March 30 - May 22	Link	Stay-at-home
North Dakota	None	N/A	N/A
Ohio	March 23 - May 19	Link	Stay-at-home
Oklahoma	April 1 - May 6	Link	Safer at home
Oregon	March 23 - June 19	Link	Stay-at-home
Pennsylvania	April 1 - June 4	Link	Stay-at-home
Rhode Island	March 28 - May 8	Link	Stay-at-home
South Carolina	April 7 - May 4	Link	Home or work
South Dakota	None	N/A	N/A
Tennessee	March 31 - April 30	Link	Safer at home
Texas	April 2 - April 30	Link	Statewide essential services and activities protocols
Utah	None	N/A	N/A
Vermont	March 24 - May 15	Link	Stay-at-home
Virginia	March 30 - May 29	Link	Stay-at-home
Washington	March 24 - May 31	Link	Stay-at-home
West Virginia	March 24 - May 4	Link	Stay-at-home
Wisconsin	March 25 - May 13	Link	Safer at Home
Wyoming	None	N/A	N/A

General resources

The chart below shows coronavirus statistics from countries across the world. The information is provided by Real Clear Politics.

Click the links below to explore official resources related to the coronavirus outbreak.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
• National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
• U.S. Department of Education
• World Health Organization
• Trends in Number of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the US Reported to CDC, by State/Territory
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations, Our World in Data (Number of vaccines administered)
• Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker, New York Times (Progress of vaccine trials)

See also

• Ballotpedia: Political responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
• State government responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
• Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021
• Changes to ballot measure campaigns, procedures, and policies in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2022
• Ballotpedia's elections calendar