# when are you re-opening **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 23, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-you-re-opening/852441 "2020-04-23T15:10:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-you-re-opening/852441/21 "2020-04-24T01:06:51Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Here in Colorado, some retail businesses can open up next week. They can. But will enough paying customers walk in to pay salaries and rent? What i saw in Pennsylvania is that people first stopped shopping and dining, and then, about two days later they were ordered to do what they already were doing. A few outlier businesses, that wanted to stay open, were closed by government orders. For example – gun shops. Then a few days later, our Gov. Wolf decided gun shopping wasn’t a battle worth fighting. I don’t blame him. When both house of your legislature are controlled by the GOP, compromises must be made. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-you-re-opening/852441/22 "2020-04-24T10:23:54Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > One thing I don’t understand is that there is all this talk of hair salons, massage parlors, gyms–places I think of as involving a lot of people in close physical contact, but as yet zero discussion of things like small personal gatherings in residences. Am I crazy? It seems like you’d start with opening up retail a little, opening up small gatherings (like cousins getting together) and see how that goes, first. Is it that politicians have no good explanation for why they aren’t all shaggy, and so need to get straight to hair cuts? > > I also sorta think it’s because all the people who are applying pressure already ARE having cousins over and other small gatherings, so they are pressuring anyone, whereas those of us that are lawful good are stuck. The [Maryland stay-at-home order](https://governor.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Gatherings-FOURTH-AMENDED-3.30.20.pdf) bans gatherings of more than 10 people. So a gathering of 10 or fewer is still legal. My understanding is that most states that have stay-at-home orders in place also draw the line at 10. (Doesn’t look like Maryland’s in any hurry to reopen.) ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-you-re-opening/852441/23 "2020-04-24T12:41:51Z")
My county ordinance bans all public and private gatherings of people who are in the same household. This is Dallas county. I am not sure what the state specifies. It’s hard for me to believe Texas is stricter than most places. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-you-re-opening/852441/24 "2020-04-24T15:49:34Z")
I went and looked it up. The state order says: > [@](#): > > In accordance with guidance from DSHS Commissioner Dr. Hellerstedt, and to achieve the goals established by the President to reduce the spread of COVD-19, every person in Texas shall, except where necessary to provide or obtain essential services, minimize social gatherings and minimize in-person contact with people who are not in the same household. So yeah, both my state and county have no 10-person limit. You aren’t supposed to go see family at all, unless it’s for an essential service (so I could go to my mom’s house to mow her lawn, but not to hang out). Now, I think in practice this is not being enforced in any way, but it’s what the order says. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-you-re-opening/852441/25 "2020-04-24T16:20:20Z")
Whitmer just extended the SaH order until May 15. She’s loosened restrictions on some businesses (landscape/lawn, golf, boating), while implementing some new rules (requiring the wearing of a mask when in enclosed public spaces). ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-you-re-opening/852441/26 "2020-04-24T17:34:16Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > That makes sense. but if it gets to the point that it’s technically legal for me and my mom to get a pedicure together but not sit 10 ft apart at the park and talk, that’s weird. I don’t think it will ever get there - assuming you can’t sit 10 feet away at the park and talk now. New York prohibits "gatherings of individuals of any size and for any reasons " and parenthetically gives as examples parties, celebrations or social events - but also says “Individuals should limit outdoor recreational activities to non-contact and avoid activities where they come in close contact with other people” and that in public you must stay six feet away from others. So it seems if your county allows you to sit or walk in the park, there’s some distance you must keep from others and it wouldn’t prohibit talking at that distance. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-you-re-opening/852441/27 "2020-04-24T18:31:06Z")
Minnesota: Schools closed for rest of this school year. Stay at Home through May 4th. After that date, certain business will be allowed to reopen, as long as they are not customer facing and utilize safe distancing guidelines. The beaches / parks remain closed, reopening date undetermined. Unknown whether there will be a state fair - which is a HUGE thing here - in late August. Governor Walz is, IMO, doing a fantastic job in all of this. Information is given very clearly, his reasoning and supporting evidence are proffered, he relies on experts, and he holds himself accountable for any problems that arise. Closer to home, my county employer still has no return to in office work date. They’ve just now started looking at how to safely bring people back into office (although there have been 5-8 people there daily throughout the pandemic). Courts are doing virtual hearing through at least mid-May, or continuing hearings until later in the summer, and filing desks remain closed with no known reopening date. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-you-re-opening/852441.md?page=1)