Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee are already about to let businesses reopen

restaurant opening.
(Image credit: DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)

Southern states are rushing to get back to business against the advice of medical experts and the federal government.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) announced Monday that he'd allow some types of shut-down businesses to reopen by next week. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) topped that by saying some businesses could even reopen this Monday at 5 p.m., and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) finished by saying the state's stay-at-home mandate would run out for good at the end of April.

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McMaster went further, saying a variety of retail stores in South Carolina could reopen at 5 p.m. today if they operated at 20 percent capacity or less. Like Florida, McMaster also lifted closures of beaches, public piers, and docks.

The White House issued guidance last week listing what criteria states would have to meet before they were allowed to begin a phased reopening of businesses. None of these states have met those case and hospitalization thresholds yet.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.