Automakers help restart U.S. industry
Detroit’s Big Three use screening procedures
WARREN, Mich. — More than 130,000 autoworkers returned to factories across the U.S. for the first time in nearly two months Monday in one of the biggest steps yet to restart American industry.
Automakers put screening procedures in place as Detroit’s Big Three — Fiat Chrysler, General Motors and Ford — as well as Honda and Toyota reopened dozens of factories from the Great Lakes states south to Tennessee and Texas and out west to Tesla’s factory near the San Francisco Bay.
No one was immediately cranking out vehicles, because it will take time to get the plants restarted. But workers appeared reassured by the precautions.
Despite warnings from health experts that the virus could make a resurgence without a vaccine or treatment, many states have eased lockdowns to save businesses and livelihoods.
Health authorities will be watching for a second wave of infections and worry Americans will disregard social distancing over Memorial
Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer.
There were already large crowds last weekend: Connecticut had to close beaches when they reached capacity under new rules, and people packed the Virginia Beach oceanfront even before restrictions were relaxed.
Deputies north of Orlando, Florida, say they were hit with cups of alcohol, bottles and bar stools after making arrests at a weekend block party with an estimated 3,000 people.
Walt Disney World posted a warning about COVID-19 as it prepares to allow some third-party shops and restaurants to reopen this week. In other developments:
Elvis Presley’s Graceland said it will reopen Thursday after it shut down tours and exhibits due to the new coronavirus outbreak. Graceland said in a news release that it is reducing tours of Presley’s former home-turned-museum to 25 percent capacity, requiring employees and encouraging visitors to wear face masks, and limiting restaurant capacities to 50 percent.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a dramatic relaxation Monday of health standards to reopen the state, a move that could allow nearly every county to proceed more quickly, and he offered the possibility of pro sports returning — without fans — by early June.
A judge in rural Oregon on Monday tossed out statewide coronavirus restrictions imposed by Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, saying she didn’t seek the Legislature’s approval to extend the stay-at-home orders beyond a 28-day limit. Brown filed paperwork within hours seeking an emergency review by the Oregon Supreme Court and a hold on the ruling until the high court could take it up. Her attorneys had asked the judge to stay his ruling until that time, but he declined.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that dentists and doctors’ offices can reopen immediately for non-urgent treatment if coronavirus safety protocols are in place, including adequate personal protective equipment for workers.
Gov. Greg Abbott gave permission Monday to reopen practically every facet of daily life in Texas, including bars and child daycare centers. Abbott’s sweeping new orders, which he described as a second phase in Texas’ reopening, allow zoos and bowling alleys to resume business and let restaurants and retailers expand the number of customers by the end of the week.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Monday that he has given up trying to push through any more statewide restrictions. Minutes after his administration scrapped plans for a new emergency rule, Evers told reporters during a teleconference that drafting rules would be a waste of time given the GOP opposition. His stance leaves local health officials on their own as they wrestle with whether and how to maintain social distancing mandates.
Restaurants, bars and other retail businesses can reopen in much of northern Michigan starting Friday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday — a key step for the tourism-dependent region before the Memorial Day weekend and summer season.
Western New York, including the city of Buffalo, met the state’s coronavirus containment goals and can begin to reopen its economy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.