Most of the nation knows that the majority of the businesses across the US came to a grinding halt with the COVID-19 epidemic sweeping through the states. The tail end of March saw many nonessential businesses forced to shutter their doors. Even the essential businesses had rules and guidelines they had to follow to be able to remain open.
Even though Oklahoma never enacted the stay-at-home order, Governor Kevin Stiff still placed restrictions in an attempt to keep the economy moving – even if at a snail’s pace – and keep the residents safe.
Many states have been easing the restrictions over the past few weeks to minimize residents’ stir-crazy feeling, and put a boost back into the economy.
Amanda Postma with Zippia conducted a survey to determine which states are the most “open for business.” Out of the top ten, Oklahoma placed number eight on the scale, with Texas following behind at number ten.
To figure out the data, each state was ranked in three separate areas; the date restrictions were lifted, business capacity and COVID tests per cases. They researched each state’s policies to determine what percentage of capacity they were allowing the businesses to operate at.
They also took the number of COVID tests performed and divided it by the number of cases.
In Oklahoma, the restrictions were eased on April 24 by allowing salons, barbers and pet groomers as the first set of nonessential businesses to reopen. Then, on May 1, restaurants, movie theaters, gyms, sporting venues and places of worship were allowed to open. The only guideline was they must follow social distancing guidelines and remain six feet apart.
As the state continued to test for the Corona Virus, and monitor the situation, nightclubs and bars were allowed to open on May 15. They also have to adhere to CDC guidelines.
According to Zippia, currently, Oklahoma has administered 96,111 COVID tests and reported 4,732 cases.
One has to question if allowing Oklahoma to reopen at full capacity will make the number of positive cases spike.