A look back at government responses to the coronavirus pandemic, Sept. 21-25, 2020

By

Samuel Wonacott

Although the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was confirmed on Jan. 21, 2020, it wasn’t until March when the novel coronavirus upended life for most Americans. Throughout the year, states issued stay-at-home orders, closed schools, restricted travel, issued mask mandates, and changed election dates.

Here are the policy changes that happened Sept. 21-25, 2020. To read more of our past coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, click here.  

Monday, Sept. 21, 2020

Stay-at-home orders and reopening plans:

  • In Texas, several types of businesses, including retail stores, restaurants, and office buildings, in 19 out of the state’s 22 hospital regions were allowed to expand operating capacity to 75%. 

Travel restrictions:

  • North Dakota Interim State Health Officer Dr. Paul Mariani announced that North Dakotans traveling internationally were no longer required to self-quarantine for 14 days after returning home.

Election changes:

  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin Judge William M. Conley issued an order extending the absentee/mail-in ballot receipt deadline in Wisconsin to Nov. 9 for ballots postmarked on or before Election Day.

Federal government responses:

  • In an update on travel restrictions on military installations, the Department of Defense announced that pandemic travel restrictions had been lifted on 51% of installations around the world.

Mask requirements:

  • Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Development Commissioner Beth Bye announced that children age three and older were required to wear face masks at daycares and preschools.

State court changes:

  • In South Carolina, state courts were allowed to resume normal scheduling and in-person hearings.
  • In New Jersey, courts in the state were allowed to resume jury trials.

Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020

Stay-at-home orders and reopening plans:

  • California Health and Human Services Director Mark Ghaly announced Riverside, Alameda, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, and Solano counties could move from purple into the red phase of reopening. Ghaly also said El Dorado, Lassen, and Nevada counties could move into the orange phase, and Mariposa County could enter the yellow phase.  

School closures and reopenings:

  • The Miami-Dade County Public Schools board voted to return students to in-class instruction. Prekindergarten, kindergarten, first grade, and students with special needs would return on Oct. 14. All others would return on Oct. 21. Families could opt for virtual learning. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is the fourth largest district in the United States.

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020

Stay-at-home orders and reopening plans:

  • North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) announced he was changing the risk level designation for 15 counties. Burgum reduced the risk level for three counties, moving them from green to blue on the state’s five-tiered risk-level system while increasing the risk level for the other 12.

Travel restrictions:

  • Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced that Massachusetts travelers entering Maine would no longer be required to test negative or quarantine for 14 days.
  • New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) added Colorado, Oregon, and Rhode Island to the list of high-risk states. Travelers from high-risk states were required to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in New Mexico. 

Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 

Election changes:

  • A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit voted 2-1 to stay a lower court decision suspending South Carolina’s witness requirement for absentee/mail-in ballots in the general election. As a result, the witness requirement was reinstated.

Friday, Sept. 25, 2020

Stay-at-home orders and reopening plans:

  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced that Florida would enter Phase 3 of reopening effective immediately, allowing bars and restaurants to operate at full capacity. The order overrode local ordinances unless cities could justify bar or restaurant closures on health or economic grounds.

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