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People's adherence to COVID-19 shelter in place orders is influenced by friends and family even in other states, according to a new working paper. For that reason, researchers said failure to coordinate the lifting of such orders comes at a substantial cost. The paper, released Thursday by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Initiative on the Digital Economy, found that people's behavior in a given area is "significantly influenced" by policies and behaviors in other, sometimes distant, regions because of their social interdependence. (Bannow, 5/21)

Shaggy, quarantine-weary residents in New Hampshire were free to visit a hair salon nearly two weeks ago. In Massachusetts, that long-awaited luxury will be allowed next week. But in New York, some residents could be waiting quite a while longer. Absent a clear, cohesive federal blueprint for reopening, governors across the country have been decision-makers in their own high-stakes gambit, choosing how to reopen and when. What’s emerged is a dizzying, sometimes discordant patchwork of plans that scientists and public health experts say may come at a great cost. (Lazar and Freyer, 5/21)

After months of lockdowns, all states have now eased restrictions in some capacity, and many are relying on data to tell them when it is safe to move to the next phase of reopening. But each state has its own idea of what that data should be. The Wall Street Journal reviewed the metrics outlined by 10 states that have significant case numbers and published clearly defined reopening plans. The differences in the data they consider—and the conclusions they draw from it—show a stark divide in the governments’ priorities. (Huth, 5/21)

The National Guard sent guidance to state governments on Thursday to wind down troops’ federal deployment for coronavirus relief work on June 24, even as administration officials say an extension is still under discussion. The guidance, obtained by POLITICO, says Guard members’ federal mission, known as Title 32, “should culminate no later than 10 June 2020” to allow for two weeks of self-quarantine before transitioning back to the community. (Ollstein, 5/21)

As America’s response to the coronavirus pandemic splits along partisan lines, a Reuters analysis may help explain why: Death rates in Democratic areas are triple those in Republican ones. By Wednesday, U.S. counties that voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election reported 39 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 residents, according to an analysis of demographic and public health data. (Sullivan, 5/21)

More than 600 physicians signed a letter organized in part by a conservative group that warns President Trump against a lengthy economic shutdown because of the coronavirus. The doctors call such closures a "mass casualty" event. The letter was spearheaded by Simone Gold, a California emergency medical specialist. Jenny Beth Martin, the cofounder of Tea Party Patriots, helped organize the letter and get it to the White House. (Weixel and Chalfant, 5/21)

After weeks of insisting the Washington, D.C., area is not ready to end its pandemic-induced lockdown, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser now says the numbers are pointing to the start of a gradual reopening process at the end of the month. Bowser on Thursday penciled in Friday, May 29 as a potential start date for phase 1 of the District of Columbia’s proposed three-phase reopening plan. That includes restaurants allowing outdoor patio seating, non-essential businesses offering curbside pickup and hair salons and barbers operating by appointment at limited capacity. (Khalil, 5/22)