By Shaila Dewan and Vanessa Swales, New York Times–

Facing the same competing pressures between keeping people safe in a pandemic and reviving some elements of a more functioning society, governors around the country Sunday made their case for steps they were taking — or not taking — to begin reopening.

Their efforts reflected the halting patchwork of attempts by several states to begin moving past severe restrictions in the face of the coronavirus, as a cascade of stay-at-home orders began to expire.

As Colorado’s order ended, Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, defended his moves to relax some social distancing restrictions, allowing curbside retail deliveries and soon allowing the reopening of workplaces at half capacity and the resumption of elective surgeries.

“What matters a lot more than the date that the stay-at-home ends is what we do going forward, and how we have an ongoing, sustainable way, psychologically, economically and from the health perspective, to have the social distancing we need,” he said Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Otherwise, if we can’t succeed in doing that on an ongoing basis, the stay-at-home was for nothing.”

But in the state’s largest city, Denver, Mayor Michael Hancock said the city needed more time to expand containment measures like testing and contact tracing, and the stay-at-home order would be extended.

Governor Polis acknowledged ongoing uncertainty about the effects of such measures, promising to adjust the rules “in real time” according to a number of different metrics, including mobility and incidence of Covid-19 cases.

On the other hand, Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, a Republican, said his state would not start to reopen until the number of deaths declined for 14 days straight, as recommended in federal guidelines.

“I’m going to be very cautious; we’re going to make decisions on science,” he told ABC’s “This Week.” Maryland has reported a total of 17,766 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 797 Covid-related deaths, according to data collected by The New York Times.

Mr. Hogan was among the governors to criticize President Trump’s recent comments on the use of disinfectant as a possible treatment for the virus.

“I think when misinformation comes out or you just say something that pops in your head, it does send a wrong message,” Mr. Hogan said.

The governors spoke as several states began large-scale experiments in relaxing strict social distancing measures — moves that carried grave risks, but high potential payoffs.

In Georgia, there were haircuts, manicures and even massages. In Montana, churches resumed in-person services. And in Alaska, there were restaurant tables to be had — reservations only, no walk-ins. In California, people flocked to open beaches in Ventura and Orange Counties. Most largely complied with regulations and social distancing guidelines.

Only a handful of states began to ease their lockdowns. Some, like Michigan and Hawaii, extended stay-at-home orders with some modest changes. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, outlined a plan that could allow some “low-risk” businesses in upstate New York to open as soon as mid-May.

About a dozen states have restrictions that are set to expire in the coming days, and for most, it remains to be seen whether they will be renewed. On Monday, Mississippi’s stay-at-home order will be replaced by a looser set of rules that allows the reopening of some businesses and gatherings of up to 10 people.

The steps toward restarting an economy halted by the coronavirus pandemic were greeted with a full spectrum of reactions: jubilation, nonchalance, fear, castigation.

And they showed just how narrow a line officials were walking. Virtually all insisted that their decisions, contested as they were, were based on hard data, and several promised to dial them back if the pandemic numbers turned in the wrong direction.

Carlos del Rio, a professor of medicine and global health at Emory University in Atlanta, said that the virus’s spread did appear to be slowing, but not as much as federal guidelines suggested it should be before phasing in more commerce. Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia has faced harsh criticism for new guidelines that opened businesses such as nail salons, gyms, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors.

“I wouldn’t say they’re ignoring the data, but they’re trying to leapfrog,” Professor del Rio said. “We need to recognize, the decision is economic — and I understand what the governors are dealing with, and it’s a difficult situation.”

It will take at least two weeks before the consequences of reopening begin to show up in the data, Professor del Rio said.

In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, said the state’s restrictions had accomplished what they were meant to: allowing time to increase the number of available hospital beds and flatten the curve of new infections.

“March 30th we had, we peaked at hospitalizations, with 560 across the state,” Governor Stitt said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Today we have 300 across the state in our hospitals. And so we think it’s time for a measured reopening.”

He added: “But I’ve been very clear with Oklahomans that coronavirus is still in the United States, and it’s still in Oklahoma.”

Interviewed on the same show, Dr. Thomas V. Inglesby of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said the pandemic may be reaching an overall plateau, but the risk of a new spike remained clear, and there should be no sense that the nation had turned a corner. “If you go state by state, you see that about half of the country — in half of the country, the numbers are still rising day to day,” he said. “And about another third of the country, there seems to be a leveling off. And only in a minority of the country the numbers are actually coming down day by day.”

He said the virus would be around until there was a vaccine for it. “Everyone needs to be aware that, even as we’re beginning to open up again, there is a clear chance of a rise in cases in states that are doing that.”

Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said Americans should expect social distancing guidelines to continue for months. “Social distancing will be with us through the summer,” she said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Dr. Birx also said a different type of coronavirus test was required to screen the U.S. population on the necessary scale, saying that it would take “a huge technology breakthrough” to get there. What’s needed, she said, is a screening test that detects antigens, like the screening tests used for flu, strep and other diseases. Antigens stimulate the body to produce antibodies, and are essentially evidence of an immune response.

On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, she also acknowledged that the nation was not using existing testing capacities to the fullest. She said the administration was working with states to identify all their testing sites and supply the needed swabs and chemical reagents.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat whose coronavirus policies have been the target of protests, extended the stay-at-home order until May 15, but relaxed a number of social distancing policies on Friday to allow in-state travel and some recreational activities.

Ms. Whitmer defended her aggressive approach, saying on ABC’s “This Week” that it had saved lives. Hawaii also extended its stay-at-home order, for another month, but loosened restrictions on surgeries and going to the beach.

In Florida, where the current stay-at-home order expires April 30, Gov. Ron De Santis said the epidemic in Central Florida had peaked and that the percentage of positives among those being tested was decreasing. He gave no specifics about plans to reopen, saying only that an announcement would come soon.

Governors have struggled to set statewide policy for cities and counties that are often in vastly different circumstances. The mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance-Bottoms, said Mr. Kemp’s announcement that some businesses could reopen took her by surprise, and some there were sharply critical.

But some mayors in the state said they were powerless to contradict Mr. Kemp’s decision. Restaurants and theaters were set to reopen on Monday.

The mayors of Atlanta, Savannah and Augusta were among the critics who suggested the move was unwise. And many African-American leaders expressed concern about the higher death rates for people of color who contract Covid-19.

Mr. Trump joined the chorus of critics, saying Mr. Kemp’s move had come “too soon.”

But Stacey Abrams, who ran against Mr. Kemp in 2018, said the president had encouraged such risks.

“I give President Trump no credit,” she told Jake Tapper on CNN. “He actually caused this challenge, by tweeting for weeks that we should liberate our economies. And when someone took him up on it, he did as he normally does, which is bend to what he thinks public opinion is.”

Critics of the early reopening included influential clergy members like Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist, an Atlanta-area megachurch, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who is running for the U.S. Senate in a special election against Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican appointed to the seat by Mr. Kemp. Dr. Warnock is the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist, Martin Luther King Jr.’s home church.

Mr. Bryant, in a Facebook Live video that was viewed more than 1 million times, said the reopening was “derelict of responsibility” and “absent of moral integrity.” He said it was deliberately aimed at separating African-Americans from their money.

Mr. Kemp has called his policy, which requires businesses to maintain social distancing, a measured return. “I think this is the right approach at the right time,” he told reporters. “It’s not just throwing the keys back to these business owners.”

Pam Belluck contributed reporting.