Along with the rest of the world, we’re continuing to watch the reopening efforts unfolding. In countries like France and Iran, which have reopened in recent weeks, there have been setbacks as new outbreaks pop up; something that epidemiologists and public health experts expected.
Here in the U.S., reopening has been left largely up to choices on a state-by-state or even county-by-county basis, often with states reopening while not yet meeting CDC guidelines regarding insufficient testing regimes or too many daily cases to make contact tracing logistically feasible.
One of the major hurdles to reopening, as we have noted in previous blog posts, is ensuring that employers have taken appropriate safeguards to protect their workers. As we learn more about the virus, one thing that is increasingly clear is that many of the major outbreaks are occurring at the workplace, with significant hotspots at prisons, call centers, meat processing facilities, and warehouses where many people are crammed together in poorly ventilated areas. At the end of April, 66% of workers were not comfortable returning to the workplace.
At this point, without firm guidelines, and a Senate majority leader blocking any progress on a new round of stimulus unless employers are exempted from liability regarding workplace safety, there is still too much uncertainty regarding employees safety at work. On top of that, some states are trying to force workers off unemployment rolls by making them ineligible for benefits if they are invited back to work by the employers, regardless of whether the employers have taken COVID-specific health and safety precautions.
Ultimately in the U.S., it will be up to individuals to make these determinations. In April, the Associated Press reported that 94% of Americans were avoiding large crowds, and according to former Obama-era official Andy Slavitt, that number has barely budged, with 70% saying it will take months for them to feel comfortable in crowds of 10 or more.
