U.S. follows patchwork reopening approach

Most dine-in restaurants in Georgia can reopen for business on Monday if they follow social distancing guidelines to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. In Montana, churches began holding in-person worship services on Sunday, with extra space between families and bottles of hand sanitizer readily available.

Does that mean things are getting back to normal? Each state is reopening at its own pace. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, told NBC News that social distancing recommendations “would be with us through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another as we move through these phases.”

Nebraska is following Georgia’s lead, lifting the harshest restrictions on dine-in restaurants and some gatherings, while Oklahoma and Alaska are allowing certain nonessential businesses to reopen. But hard-hit states like New York and Michigan are extending stay-at-home restrictions through at least mid-May. Even in the states that are reopening, not everyone is on board. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said it’s “still too early to reopen” Georgia’s capital city, while most major movie theater chains said they won’t take advantage of the opportunity.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher and financial analyst David Bahnsen discuss the latest economic news on Monday’s edition of The World and Everything in It.