About 2,000 people honked, cheered and jeered against coronavirus restrictions Monday in Harrisburg, Pa., the latest and one of the largest rallies in a growing movement nationwide against governors balancing healthcare and economic concerns.

Motorists honked horns while circling the Capitol. Protesters waved flags and signs that said "Freedom is essential" and "Rednecks 2 reopen PA," while urging Gov. Tom Wolf to end the shutdown of non-essential businesses.

"Unfortunately, some people have lost their lives to the virus," said state GOP Rep. Aaron Bernstine, amid the signs for "Work not welfare" and "Church is essential." "My heart goes out to every one of those people. But my heart also goes out to the 1.5 million people in Pennsylvania out of work."

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But Wolf, a Democrat who threatened to veto a bill to ease restrictions from the Republican legislature, has said the nationwide lack of testing materials remained an obstacle to gradually reopening the economy.

"We each feel that we are responsible citizens,” said Matthew Bellis, a member of ReOpen PA, one of the groups that organized the rally, with Pennsylvanians Against Excessive Quarantine and End the Lockdown PA. “We are adults and want to be treated as such.”

Banners flew across the West during the weekend demanding governors reopen states for business in Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Washington state. But healthcare workers in Denver also demonstrated their concerns by wearing scrubs while blocking protesting motorists.

Across Tennessee, hundreds of people urged an end to Gov. Bill Lee’s statewide shutdown order, with protests Sunday outside the Capitol in Nashville, and in cities including Knoxville, Chattanooga, Jackson and Memphis.

After Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers extended his stay-at-home order to May 26, about 1,000 protesters protested the move with signs and flags Saturday in Brookfield and about 70 people turned out Sunday in Madison.

“We have never cowered to a virus in this country before – ever,” Kirsten Lombard, 53, of McFarland, said outside the Capitol building. “I don’t know why we are now.”



More protests planned

More confrontations are on tap, organized through social media often with just a few days’ notice. Rallies are planned Tuesday in North Carolina, Wednesday in Virginia and Friday in Wisconsin.

President Donald Trump supported protesters Sunday, saying that “some governors have gone too far” without naming them.

“I have never seen so many American flags at a rally as I have at these rallies,” Trump said during a daily news conference. “They want to get back to work.”

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told ABC News on Sunday that protests were largely in states with Democratic governors that shouldn’t be exaggerated.

“But I think of it largely as a distraction and the president’s embrace of it as a distraction from the fact that he has not appropriately done testing, treatment, contact tracing, and quarantine,” Pelosi said.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said protesting stay-at-home orders could backfire if easing restrictions leads to the spread of more illness.



“If you jump the gun, and go into a situation where you have a big spike, you’re going to set yourself back,” Fauci told ABC News on Monday. “So as painful as it is to go by the careful guidelines of gradually phasing into a reopening – it’s going to backfire. That’s the problem.”

States announce plans to reopen

In Tennessee, Gov. Lee announced Monday that the “vast majority” of businesses in 89 counties would be allowed to reopen May 1, but that he would work with business leaders and health officials six metropolitan counties to develop reopening strategies.

“While I am not extending the safer at home order past the end of April, we are working directly with our major metropolitan areas to ensure they are in a position to reopen as soon and safely as possible,” said Lee. “Social distancing works, and as we open up our economy it will be more important than ever that we keep social distancing as lives and livelihoods depend on it.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that while still urging social distancing, he would allow restaurants, theaters and private clubs to reopen April 27. But he said bars, nightclubs and amusement park rides would remain closed. His stay-at-home order expires April 30, but he said the elderly and medically fragile should plan to remain sheltered through May 13.

© Robert Scheer/IndyStar Some of about 250 people who lined both sides of Meridian Street adjacent to the Governor's Residence on Saturday, April 18, 2020 hold signs. The protesters want businesses in Indiana reopened during the coronavirus pandemic.

“By taking this measured action, we will get Georgians back to work safely without undermining the progress that we have all made in the battle against COVID-19,” Kemp said.

Weekend protests voiced frustration

More than 200 people rallied Saturday afternoon outside the Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s residence to protest what they describe as government overreach in the efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Protesters compared Holcomb to a tyrant and argued that his orders violate the state and federal Constitutions.

"He's not a king," said Elizabeth Fiscus of Greencastle. "We have separation of powers for a reason."

Holcomb called the protest "an almost perfect Petri dish" to potentially spread the virus. But Holcomb has said his administration is doing everything it can to get through the crisis safely.

"I totally get the anxiety and the impatience and the desire to get back out there and get back out the way things used to be," he said Monday. "We're on the right path."

In Texas, Austin Mayor Steve Adler on Sunday said he was encouraged that Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to reopen Texas businesses would be “governed by the science and the data.” But he said protesters who defy social-distancing warnings are “pretty selfish.”

About 300 protesters – some from as far as Fort Worth or Corpus Christi – chanted “Let us work” and “Fire Fauci” Saturday at what was called a “You Can’t Close America Rally” on the steps of the Capitol.

“I was fortunate that it was a relatively small group, because any large gatherings like that, I think, were a real concern not just to the people that were there but to the community generally,” Adler told MSNBC on Sunday. “People who gather in situations like that, I think, are being pretty selfish.”

Contributing: Kim Strong, York Daily Record; Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Amelia Pak-Harvey, Indianapolis Star; Roberto Villalpando, Austin American Statesman.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Anti-quarantine rally in Pennsylvania draws about 2,000 people in latest protest against coronavirus restrictions