Citywide curfews have replaced stay-at-home orders as major cities have dealt with a rise in violent protests as the number of coronavirus cases has declined.
Every state and the District of Columbia have begun lifting coronavirus restrictions and allowing some businesses to reopen at limited capacity. But now, many of the same cities are imposing curfews to limit unrest.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, for instance, allowed the district to enter phase one of reopening on Friday but implemented a citywide curfew Sunday starting at 11 p.m. She reinstated the curfew for both Monday and Tuesday, beginning at 7 p.m.
Likewise, Los Angeles County received approval from Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday to reopen barbershops and hair salons and to allow restaurants to resume in-person dining. Los Angeles County extended its curfew for a third night in a row Tuesday to last from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Small-business owners, who experienced the brunt of economic restrictions for months during coronavirus lockdowns, have also seen extensive damage to their businesses after many large protests that have turned violent.
Mayor Robert Garcia of Long Beach, California, said Tuesday, “What happened last night to our small businesses was unacceptable. We should be angry and saddened by the behavior of these people and these criminals.”
In Minneapolis and St. Paul, where curfews began Friday and will continue through 4 a.m. Wednesday, hundreds of businesses were damaged or looted, according to CNN.
By Friday, the first day on which the Twin Cities implemented curfews, 170 businesses had been damaged, according to the St. Paul Police Department.
“Thankfully, no reports of serious injuries. Calm on the horizon,” the police department reported.
Protesting has persisted despite curfews, much like demonstrations to protest state lockdowns in several states persisted despite stay-at-home orders. For instance, armed Michiganders protested Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lockdown order in the state capitol in Lansing last month. Some protesters disregarded social distancing by standing close to one another or neglecting to wear masks. Similarly, protests in Michigan have been comprised of massive groups of people gathered closely together, often without wearing masks.
“A lot of the early-in-the-day events, where it really was peaceful protests, people were wearing masks,” Whitmer said Monday. “They appeared to really be taking the practices seriously to keep themselves safe. I think that’s important.”
Protests escalated at night, at which point, more people gathered in smaller areas with fewer people wearing masks, Whitmer said.
After 11 weeks under lockdown, restaurants and cafes in France reopened Tuesday, the Financial Times reported. Businesses will not permit standing room at bars, and waiters will have to abide by hygiene measures such as wearing masks on the job.
The Republican National Committee began looking for an alternate convention site Tuesday after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said that the likelihood of holding the August convention in Charlotte is “very unlikely” because of social distancing requirements. RNC officials will visit Nashville this week, and Orlando, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, and some cities in Georgia are also under consideration.
Researchers are investigating whether drugs to treat high blood pressure and others used to treat cardiovascular illnesses can help COVID-19 patients recover faster and prevent complications from the disease, according to the Wall Street Journal. Results from several studies are expected to publish over the summer, which could provide doctors with more medication options to treat the coronavirus.
China withheld valuable information on the new coronavirus early on in the pandemic, such as the genetic makeup of the virus, from the World Health Organization, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. While WHO leadership praised the Chinese government for publishing the virus genome almost immediately after it was discovered, China actually sat on the genomic mapping for about a week before finally releasing the information on Jan. 11.
