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Protests Against Lockdown Continue

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

With stay-at-home orders still in place in many cities and states, protests have sprouted up around the nation.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A.

KELLY: Crowds in San Diego there on Saturday marching against the ongoing closure of beaches and parks in the city. Protesters also turned out in state capitols in Texas, Maryland and Virginia over the weekend.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

And today, in Kansas City, about 50 people gathered at a city park, many of them protesting the economic downturn caused by the outbreak. One of them was Kristi Nichols, who had this message for Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.

KRISTI NICHOLS: Let him go without his paycheck and see what it's like to have people knocking on your doors when you can't pay your bills and your business is closed that you put your whole livelihood - and you're sweating, toiling to live for the American dream.

SHAPIRO: A similar scene played out in Harrisburg, Pa., today. But there, a small group of medical workers from local hospitals came with their own counterprotest, urging people to respect the state's stay-at-home order. Katrina Rectenwald, a registered nurse from western Pennsylvania, pointed to the people objecting to the shutdown.

KATRINA RECTENWALD: They're not those social distancing. They don't have masks on. And when they all end up sick, our hospital systems are going to end up overwhelmed, which is going to result in people dying. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.