More U.S. states are lifting coronavirus restrictions on residents and nonessential businesses, despite warnings from health officials that premature easing could spur new outbreaks. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday announced restaurants, gyms, retailers and other non-essential businesses would be permitted to reopen at 100% capacity later this month. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said she would be lifting the state's mask mandate in early April, following similar shifts by Texas and Mississippi.
Here are some of the biggest developments Friday:
The U.S. is recording at least 62,900 new Covid-19 cases and at least 1,770 virus-related deaths each day, based on a seven-day average calculated by CNBC using Johns Hopkins University data.
The following data was compiled by Johns Hopkins University:
- Global cases: More than 115.9 million
- Global deaths: At least 2.57 million
- U.S. cases: More than 28.88 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 522,325