3 states ease lockdowns; US COVID-19 toll passes 50,000

RUSS BYNUM and DAVID CRARY

Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Even as the confirmed U.S. death toll from coronavirus rose past 50,000, salons, spas and barbershops reopened Friday in Georgia and Oklahoma with a green light from their Republican governors, who eased lockdown orders despite health experts' warnings.

Alaska took a similar step, allowing restaurants to resume dine-in service and retail shops and other businesses to reopen, all with limitations. Some municipalities chose to maintain stricter rules.

Though limited in scope, and subject to social-distancing restrictions, the reope...