U.S. equity markets surged to their best levels in months as states continued to reopen and traders returned to the New York Stock Exchange for the first time since shutting down on March 23 to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Number of experimental vaccines under development also buoys sentiment in markets.

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday on optimism about economies reopening and the potential development of a coronavirus vaccine.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 640 points, or 2.6%, to 25112. The S&P 500 rose 2%, climbing back above 3000 for the first time since early March and above its 200-day moving average, a closely watched barometer of its strength. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4%.

The slow reopening in liberal states will hurt the national recovery.

The state lockdowns are starting to ease and the U.S. economy should slowly begin to recover. But it’s worth noting that the states opening most slowly are big states run by Democrats that represent something like a third of the U.S. economy. This means a slower recovery for those states and the U.S.

“How much do you weigh different parts of our total well-being against each other?” As all 50 states begin reopening this week, that’s a question leaders are weighing – one that forces moral questions about American values.

Michael Flood feels for America’s government leaders. They have difficult choices to make in deciding how quickly to reopen economies. As president of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, he’s seeing both sides of human hurt in the coronavirus pandemic.

“The U.S. economy, frozen by COVID-19 shutdowns, is in the process of thawing out. All 50 states have at least partially eased tight restrictions on businesses, with a mix of policies letting restaurants or stores welcome customers.” NPR

Data trends from each state are available here. ProPublica

The left argues that existing lockdowns have been effective and the economy shouldn’t reopen until proper precautions have been put in place.

U.S. states and governments around the world are trying to revive their economies after months of shutdowns, as they take tentative steps to ease restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

State governments in the U.S. estimate the collective expense of fighting the pandemic at some $45 billion, which most want the federal government to repay in full, rather than be reimbursed at the 75% rate allowed under the law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.

Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t care about political spin.

On Tuesday, the U.S. government’s top experts warned that Covid-19 was by no means under control, and that premature easing of social distancing could have disastrous consequences. As far as I can tell, their view is shared by almost all epidemiologists.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the White House coronavirus task force, testified Tuesday before the Senate Health Committee on efforts to combat the coronavirus, amid warnings that lifting restrictions keeping people home from school and work could pose unnecessary health risks.

Leading U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Tuesday warned Congress that while the federal government is working to help manufacture a vaccine against the new coronavirus, its development “might take some time” to come to market.

As a result, Fauci told a Senate health committee in prepared testimony, the nation’s efforts to battle the deadline virus and the COVID-19 disease it triggers should be “focused on the proven public health practices of containment and mitigation.”

Top federal health officials are being pressed during a highly anticipated Senate hearing Tuesday on whether the country is ready to reopen, with Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, warning that “consequences could be really serious” if states move too quickly.

The panel’s chairman and witnesses are appearing remotely in an unusual session that includes the first congressional testimony from Fauci, a key member of the White House task force, since President Trump declared the coronavirus crisis a national emergency March 13.