Why Aren’t We Even Talking About Easing COVID Restrictions?

When many states and cities implemented shutdown orders to combat the spread of the coronavirus last year, an array of metrics told the public when, or if, the closures would end. Restrictions on shopping, dining indoors, playing sports, and going to school were created based on specific data such as the COVID-19 positivity rate and the number of cases.

In New York City, elaborate, color-coded zones were concocted for neighborhoods, introducing certain restrictions tied to the prevalence of COVID. Another tiered, color-coded system was used in California, bound to cases per every 100,000 people and positivity rates. The idea was simple: If certain numbers diminished, rules could be relaxed.

But most of the newest mandates carry no such metrics. In a select number of large cities, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York City, proof of