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As lockdowns ease, health officials urge to continue virus vigilance

Virus Outbreak New York
Posted at 5:47 AM, Apr 29, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-29 07:00:39-04

As governments move forward with plans to ease coronavirus restrictions, health officials around the globe are calling on the public to remain vigilant so that hard-won victories in the battle against the pandemic are not lost.

With South Koreans about to celebrate their longest holiday since infections there surged in February, authorities are urging people to think twice about traveling and to continue to wear masks, not share food and stay home if they are feeling sick.

When and how to reopen has become a matter of intense debate around the world, perhaps no more so than in the United States.

States in the U.S. have started lifting their coronavirus restrictions piecemeal and according to their own, often arbitrary, timetables.

Gyms, stores, malls... all are businesses that remain closed right now, but starting Friday in Iowa, they can reopen at half their normal capacity. Restaurants too.

For a lot of these places reopening, it comes at a time when they're desperate to make ends meet.

But there are also decisions involved because you don't want to run the risk of getting someone sick.

We know some states have recently extended restrictions. North Carolina did last week. Louisiana is also extending.

"A lot of progress has been made on a vaccine. But I think what happens is it's going to go away. This is going to go away," said President Trump.

That's the president giving his thoughts on what's to come with the virus, but Doctor Anthony Fauci, the country's lead COVID-19 expert, says it will be with us into the fall.

Fauci is concerned any progress we've made on stopping the spread could be undone if things open up too quickly.

Yesterday President Trump signed an executive order telling meat processing plants to stay open. This comes after outbreaks forced some to close.

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