EP 4: Uncertainty looms over the reopening of America during coronavirus pandemic

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It’s May, and that means more states across America will begin lifting stay-at-home restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Are we, as a nation, ready for this?

On this episode of “America Amplified: Life, Community, and COVID-19,”’ hosts Brian Ellison of KCUR in Kansas City, Missouri, and John Dankosky of New England Public Radio, explore the economic and emotional strife we’re facing.

On the one hand, businesses that have been closed and people out of work need to restart. On the other, widespread testing and a vaccine are not yet available.

Of nearly two dozen responses to a texting exchange asking Kansas City-area residents for their thoughts about businesses reopening, a majority said they were not comfortable with the idea.

Many said there hasn’t been enough testing to feel safe around others.

One respondent wrote: ”Nothing has changed. There's still not enough testing, no effective treatment, and no vaccine. Reopening will reverse all the progress we've made. I'm scared I'll have to go back to my non-essential retail job next week.”

Others, however, feel that there is enough information now to reopen with proper precautions.

“We still need to be cautious but if we have a more targeted isolation policies, that will be better. Also, it will relieve a lot of the pressures caused by mass shelter in place orders.”

So what should we expect going forward? How will businesses be affected by the regulations in place to limit gatherings?

You’ll hear from:

  • Pedro Soto, entrepreneur and president and CEO of Hygrade Precision Technologies in Plainville, Connecticut

  • Laura Norris, owner of Ragazza Italian restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri

  • Karen Sedatole, interim dean of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, Georgia

  • Rashaun Clark, owner of a salon and Urban Cafe in Kansas City, Missouri

  • Stories from Oklahoma: A Cherokee tribe member and homeschooling mother, a Vietnamese-American small business owner, a veterinarian and city councilmember, and a mother who’s had COVID-19.

You can also read our Twitter thread below to see what we covered in the show.

Staff: Coordinating producer Andrea Tudhope and producer John Voci.

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EP 5: How COVID-19 may change our producer-to-consumer food chain

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EP 3: What COVID-19 reveals about how we care for our elderly