Bloomberg article on Georgia reopening and implications for other states

quote:

---

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s move to allow businesses to reopen almost three weeks ago, widely ridiculed by public-health officials, has so far not resulted in a surge of hospitalizations or deaths. That’s caught the attention of economists. Some Wall Street economists say a continued decline in serious illnesses suggests Georgia’s reopening may encourage other states to ease restrictions and lead to an eventual resumption in economic activity in the U.S.

---

quote:

---

“Georgia is a bellwether mainly because the reopening has been so aggressive,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC, who cited in a research note Wednesday an almost 20% drop in Georgia’s Covid-19 patients in the past week or so. “The other aggressive states, like Florida and Texas, are still opening up more slowly,” Stanley said in an interview. “So if Georgia is successful then, in theory, no one is going too fast -- there should be a strong presumption that reopenings everywhere else should be successful.”

---