States cautiously reopen businesses

Starting next week, Michigan’s bars and restaurants can seat customers inside for the first time in more than two months. Though capacity restrictions and curfews remain, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer relaxed COVID-19 precautions as the state’s rate of infections dropped.

Is the same thing happening in other states? The number of new, confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States has dipped over the past two weeks, and the number of Americans hospitalized for the disease has plummeted. Washington, D.C., as well as Chicago and its surrounding suburbs have also lifted indoor dining bans levied in the fall. Oregon has allowed some businesses besides restaurants to bring customers inside. Though optimistic, health officials also warned they have identified a more infectious strain of the virus from the United Kingdom in more than 20 states.

Dig deeper: Read John Dawson’s report on the U.K. variant of the virus.