CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — After more than a year of several state’s shutting down, many are now re-opening. Officials say the loosening of restrictions is largely due to an increase in vaccination rates.
“It’s absolutely fantastic that business can go back to full fledge open, with little to no restrictions. It’s just going to be a game changer for a lot of the restaurants and businesses that have been struggling,” stated restaurant owner Bennie Parr.
“You can just feel the excitement in the air and health wise , I do home health care and a lot of mine clients are relieved now. Vaccines have come out. You got your pros and cons about that. But people are relieved and they are happy to get back to life,” said health care worker Mary Ann Wilson.
Illinois lifted most state wide restrictions on Friday. Next in line is California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order clearing most of California’s coronavirus rules governing public gatherings.
“California has the lowest case rate in the United States of America which is significant when you consider the size and scale of this state. The density of this state. I bring that up for no other reason than to express my gratitude and appreciation to millions of California’s that took the opportunity to get vaccinated,” stated Newsom.
Starting Tuesday, there will be no capacity limits or physical distancing requirements for businesses in California. People who are fully vaccinated won’t be required to wear a mask, including indoors. The only exceptions are mega events, healthcare setting, indoors at schools and public transportation.
While much of public life will officially return to normal on Tuesday, the state will still be under a statewide declaration of emergency.
So far at least 13 states have reached 70% coverage among adults; about a dozen more on pace to reach the milestone by July 4.
The Transportation Security Administration stated on Friday that U.S. airports surpassed the 2 million threshold for travelers screened in one day, totaling 2,028,961 people checked at airport security checkpoints.
It marked the first time that more than 2 million individuals were screened since March 2020.
A top world health organization official says vaccination coverage of at least 80% is needed to significantly lower the risk of new coronavirus variants, now appearing in other countries.
The U.S. Government’s goal is to get at least 70 percent of the U.S. adult population partially vaccinated by July 4.
As part of the Month of Action, Vice President Kamala Harris will launch a nation-wide tour to reach millions of Americans who still need protection against the virus. On Monday, she will travel to Greenville, South Carolina as part of the tour.
