In Texas, where the Republican governor was praised by President Donald Trump for loosening restrictions, hair salons and barber shops were allowed to reopen Friday, following earlier restarts of restaurants and retailers.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz flew up from Houston to get his hair cut at a Dallas salon that became a rallying cry for conservative protests against lockdown orders after the owner refused to shut down and was jailed. She was later ordered released.
California, which imposed the first statewide stay-home order in the U.S., was taking more modest steps. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom allowed clothing stores, sporting goods shops, florists and other retailers to start operating curbside pickup Friday, with many employees required to wear masks.
Pennsylvania announced that 13 counties, including much of the Pittsburgh area, can loosen restrictions next week, following a similar move for a swath of rural northern Pennsylvania.
South Carolina restaurants can reopen with limited indoor dining service Monday, the same day as Mississippi barbershops, salons and gyms.
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In contrast the city of Gallup, New Mexico, which serves tens of thousands of people living on and around the vast Navajo reservation, was under an extreme lockdown with police checkpoints keeping all but residents out.
The moves came as the U.S. has recorded more than 1.28 million cases and more than 76,000 deaths. Massachusetts, with at least 73,000 cases and 4,500 deaths, and Illinois, with 70,000 cases and 3,000 deaths, are states where stay-home orders remain in effect until later this month.
Among the lives claimed by the virus was magician Roy Horn of the famed Las Vegas act Siegfried & Roy, who died Friday at age 75.
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