Worries over public safety linger as some states start reopening Friday

WASHINGTON (SBG)— From Alaska to Tennessee, some governors are allowing certain businesses to reopen at the end of the week, leaving some to choose between overcoming economic troubles and protecting public health.

During a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump said he disagreed with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's decision to allow certain businesses like bowling alleys and tattoo parlors to reopen Friday.

Dr. Anthony Fauci offered Kemp some advice.

“He should be careful and I would advise him not to just turn the switch on and go," said Fauci.

Still, Kemp -- along with governors of Alaska, South Carolina and Tennessee -- are choosing not to follow the White House's guidelines for reopening. Those guidelines advise states to begin the first phase of reopening when there is a 14-day decline in new coronavirus cases.

According to the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, none of these states have met this criteria -- but some say businesses have already been closed too long.

"We're talking about somebody that has put their whole life into building a business that has people that they love and work with every single day," said Kemp. "Working in many of these places that are at home, going broke, worried about whether they can feed their children, make the mortgage payment."

Some of Georgia's mayors are pushing back.

“I’m exhorting everyone in this community to continue to shelter in place," said Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz. "Do not reopen at this time. It is not the time to do it.”

In Tennessee, a similar clash is playing out between Gov. Bill Lee and some of the state's mayors. Lee announced he will not extend the state's stay-at-home order past April 30 while the mayor of Memphis extended the city's stay-at-home order until May 5.

“If we do a phased reopening that includes social distancing and every component of that opening, then we will continue to keep our citizens safe," said Lee.

Under these partial re-openings, it won't be business as usual.

Starting Friday in Alaska, some non-essential businesses can reopen as long as they only operate up to 25% capacity. They also must adhere to strict sanitation guidelines.

“Think of the distancing of six foot," said Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. "Think of the hand washing, the hygiene."

While these governors appear confident about easing restrictions, polling shows most Americans are not. According to Pew Research Center, 66% of Americans are worried that restrictions will be lifted too quickly.

“The economic crisis, the economic devastation is real but right now, the public health concerns are taking priority," said Pew's Director of Political Research Carroll Doherty.

As some of these states start to reopen, it's unclear if people will feel comfortable enough to patronize non-essential businesses.

“We asked about this in March as the coronavirus was just hitting, you know, kind of in the early phase, that people are very uncomfortable about at that time, about going to restaurants, you know, going to public activities," said Doherty.

Doherty said while most Americans support stay-at-home orders, its economic devastation cannot be ignored.

“We just put out a study where 43% of Americans said they -- someone in their household or they themselves -- had either lost a job or suffered a pay cut as a result of this," said Doherty.