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The trouble with reopening for business after coronavirus : The Indicator from Planet Money Small and medium size enterprises tend not to have much of a cash cushion, so most are desperate to get back to work. But many are finding that reopening after a pandemic is a messy business.

The Indicator from Planet Money

Getting Back To Business

Cardiff Garcia

Getting Back To Business

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Dan Settle sits outside Chris' Barber Shop as he waits his turn for a haircut in Lilburn, Georgia on April 24, 2020. - Georgia Governor Brian Kemp eased restrictions allowing some businesses such as barber shops to reopen to get Georgia's economy going during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Tami Chappell / AFP) (Photo by TAMI CHAPPELL/AFP via Getty Images)
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TAMI CHAPPELL/AFP via Getty Images
Dan Settle sits outside Chris&#039; Barber Shop as he waits his turn for a haircut in Lilburn, Georgia on April 24, 2020. - Georgia Governor Brian Kemp eased restrictions allowing some businesses such as barber shops to reopen to get Georgia&#039;s economy going during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Tami Chappell / AFP) (Photo by TAMI CHAPPELL/AFP via Getty Images)
TAMI CHAPPELL/AFP via Getty Images

Ninety-seven percent of the U.S. population is under stay-at-home orders from their state. And of course, that also means many businesses in the U.S. have been shut down for weeks.

This week, however, that began to change. A handful of states, including Alaska, Georgia, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Montana have given some businesses the greenlight to reopen. But reopening doesn't mean business as usual. Business owners and their customers now have to navigate a new world, complete with social distancing, frightened employees, masks, thermometers, disinfectant... Today we talk to two business owners who are dealing with the messy business of getting back to business.

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