No doubt everyone across America is suffering from COVID fatigue. Restrictions and in some places even shutdowns and lockdowns are still in place. But believe it or not, as draconian as some of the measures foisted upon us by state and local government here in Louisiana may seem, compared to a lot of cities and states, we are living the high life.

While many more businesses are open now than were open just a few days ago (the departure of Trump most likely just a coincidence, wink, wink), the U.S. still has a ways to go to get to a full reopening. The health experts say that most likely won't happen until we achieve widespread vaccination and reach some sort of "herd immunity.". In the meantime, while states like Louisiana have been under the same limited restrictions for aa few months, a few others (mostly cities) have even reversed course and tightened restrictions due to surges in COVID-19 transmission.

In order to determine the states with the fewest coronavirus restrictions, personal finance website WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 14 key metrics. The data set ranged from whether restaurants are open to whether the state has required face masks in public and workplace temperature screenings.

And it's no surprise that, looking at the results, the states that are most "wide open" are Republican run, while the places still in the throes of limitations are almost all blue.

And what about Louisiana? Well, as burdensome as the still-in-place Phase II limits remain with us, our 22nd place finish puts us in a spot that would be the envy of a places struggling with stricter rules.

The one place where Louisiana ranks poorly is unemployment during the pandemic, standing at 46th out of the 51, the irony being that unemployment remains high despite, compared to others, a paucity of restrictions.

States with the Fewest COVID-19 Restrictions:

1) Oklahoma

2) South Dakota

3) Iowa

4) Arkansas

5) Florida

States with the Tightest COVID-19 Restrictions:

47) New Mexico

48) Massachusetts

49) District of Columbia

50) Virginia

51) California

To see the entire WalletHub study of States with the Fewest Coronavirus Restrictions and metrics including social distancing, masks and COVID survivability numbers, JUST CLICK HERE!

 

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