Georgia’s Restaurants, Barber Shops Are Coming Back To Life As Lockdowns Ease, Data Show
Chris White on May 7, 2020
Georgia’s restaurants and barber shops are seeing a slow but steady increase in traffic after Gov. Brian Kemp began easing up the economic lockdowns he imposed to slow the coronavirus pandemic, location data show.
Visits to the state’s barber shops and tattoo parlors increased to 80% of pre-coronavirus levels after Georgia began rolling back own stay-at-home orders on April 24, according to data released by Foursquare, a location technology platform. Data also show restaurants are on the rebound.
Restaurants returned to more than 75% of normal levels as dine-in service establishments reopened, data show. Gym visits rose as well, with visits down less than 60% of pre-pandemic levels in the week ending May 1, a slower decline than the 65% to 75% drops weeks earlier, according to Foursquare’s report.
The data show that rural and urban communities responded differently. Restaurant visits in rural parts of the Peach State hit 88% of pre-virus levels, while eateries in urban areas was still at 50% as of May 1.
President Donald Trump joined critics disagreeing with Kemp’s move, with the president suggesting at an April 22 White House briefing that it was “too soon” for Georgia to open. Kemp announced the ease of lockdowns on April 21.
“I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree strongly with his decision to open certain facilities which are in violation of the phase one guidelines for the incredible people of Georgia,” the president said. “They have been strong, resolute, but at the same time, he must do what he thinks is right … I disagree with him on what he is doing.”
Foursquare’s data also show that Americans in general are becoming more relaxed about leaving their homes.
Americans are back to visiting gas stations and fast food restaurants at pre-COVID-19 levels in certain parts of the country, according to a report the company published on April 30. Foursquare noted in a blog post that people are apparently feeling more free to travel about.
Gas stations are down only 6% nationally as of April 24, compared to 8-11% weeks prior, Foursquare noted in its April 30 report.
Such visits to fuel stations have returned to normal in the Midwest and in rural areas, which have seen slower spread and fewer COVID-19-related deaths than coastal cities.
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Photo Credit: Reuters
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I can tell you that customers at our local barber shops are way above 100% of pre-Corona Virus traffic. My son got a haircut yesterday and the barbershop he uses, which usually closes at 5:30 pm, was open at least until 7:30 pm when his haircut was done. And there were more customers waiting.
We need to get back to life. There are all kinds of things that take lives every day. And unless you decide to be a permanent hermit for the rest of your life. You’re going to get exposed to this virus, sooner or later, no matter what you do. Yes, I understand that later would be better. Especially if you have a health issue that makes you more at risk. But for the rest of us. We should be able to chose the path that we think best. After all. It’s supposed to be the ‘Land of the Free and Home of the Brave’.
From New York Post’s Miranda Devine, quoting UK Intelligence analyst who searched and found on Wuhan’s Institute of Virology’s data base (through open-source methods). The analyst determined an alteration occurred two days before a gene sequencing lab was reportedly ordered by the Health and Medical Commission of Hubei Province to destroy samples of the new disease and withhold information. Per UK intelligence, these alterations occurred on the evening of December 30. They were extensive and substantial, made the day before CCP officials notified WHO- World Health Organization about the outbreak of a cluster of PNEUMONIA cases in Wuhan.
An unknown individual altered many key nomenclature terminologies. For example: “wildlife” and “wild animals” were deleted. Without these key terms – global heatlh researchers said “the virus jumped from bats to humans via another wild animal (a crucial “missing link” baffling scientists in the COVID-19 transmission chain).
The UK analyst was aware of the chief researcher (Shi Zhengli- nicknamed “Bat Woman”) often say: “her data-base was unique” because it included “data on virus variants in other wild animals.” UK analyst’s report stated: “The title of the database was hurriedly and carelessly changed on December 30’s evening from “Wildlife-borne viral pathogen database” to “Bat and rodent-borne viral pathogen database.” Analyst’s question was: Was (Shi Zhengli’s) her database changed to keep prying eyes away from references to cross-species transmission of viruses in wild animals? UK Analyst stated: “Wild animal” was replaced with “bat and rodent” or “bat and rat” at least 10 times. Adding that – reference to “arthropod vectors” was removed. His report continued: Key words enabling searches connecting Shi’s database with the outbreak were deleted, for example: “Wild animal Samples.” “Viral Pathogen Data,” Emerging Infectious Diseases,” “Cross-Species Infection.” Instead, on December 30, these terms were replaced with: bat, rodent, and virus within hours of having been informed of a novel-coronavirus outbreak. The analyst concluded: “If the WIV – World Institute of Virology had located this missing link between bat virus (RaTG13) and SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus causing COVID-19) from an “animal vector” it would still be in Shi Zhengli’s database…it wasn’t, it was missing. The rest is history. Pray. Amen. God Bless America. Read A Bible. NKJV. Psalm 128. 10 commandments everywhere.