Is it time to re-open businesses? If a business, like a hair salon, opened up tomorrow - would you feel safe enough to go to that business?
Calls for re-opening America - including the metro New Orleans area - are getting louder. Protesters are going to some state capitols demanding that stay-at-home/social distancing restrictions be lifted immediately. Those protests have inspired counter-protests supporting the orders to stay home and practice social distancing.
Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp spiked the debate over re-opening the economy when he announced that businesses in the state of Georgia will be allowed to open as early as this Friday - but the businesses must follow PPE and social distancing protocol. Noteworthy is the idea that a Republican governor is going against President Trump’s set standards for re-opening businesses.
Among the businesses that can open Friday: fitness centers, bowling alleys, tattoo parlors, barbers, hair salons, nail salons and massage therapy businesses. On Monday, April 27 - restaurants in the state will be allowed to open if certain guidelines are followed.
Tennessee and South Carolina are two more states that are ready to re-open businesses. In Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards announced that a new order from the LA Department of Health will allow doctors’ offices to re-open and non-emergency surgeries and dental procedures will resume.
If restaurants opened tomorrow - would you go out to eat? As businesses re-open, protocol for person protection and social distancing will need to be in place. Restaurants will reconfigure tables and seating to adhere to social distancing guidelines. Are you ready to go to a restaurant even if experts and the numbers suggest it is too soon to open non-essential businesses?
When businesses re-open - the decision as to whether to frequent each business is made by individuals. Because a business opens up does not mean it is totally safe to venture out as a customer. Each of us should use the information available to decide if it is worth the risk.
I am not promoting the idea that it is time to totally re-open the economy - but it seems that some businesses could use PPE, exercise social distancing measures and control the number of people allowed in their location. I am emphasizing that whenever businesses do re-open - each of us is responsible for making the decision about whether it is safe enough or the risk does not outweigh the reward - to resume being consumers.
The government will not always know when it is safe for us to do something; and just because the government gives the green light to activity - each of us should take seriously our role as individuals when deciding whether it’s safe to return to a new normal.