U.S. States Ease Covid Restrictions as Variants Take Hold

California and other large states are loosening Covid restrictions just as scientists warn that more-contagious variants of the virus are beginning to take hold in the U.S. and the vaccine rollout struggles.

With a two-month spike in cases beginning to subside, California Governor Gavin Newsom is lifting the state’s stay-at-home order. New York, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts also are easing restrictions.

The shift comes as new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are declining. Still, the new variants -- including one in the U.K., another in California and a Brazilian one first identified in the U.S. on Monday in Minnesota -- are setting off alarms, and may be more transmissible. The U.S. has administered only about 23.4 million vaccines for a population of about 331 million.