An aerial view of Washington Square Park in San Francisco on May 22, 2020. | Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Covid-19 experts explain when individuals and states can expect to ease up — and what could still go wrong.

President Joe Biden last week suggested Americans will be able to gather more freely by July 4. Some states have started to ease Covid-19 restrictions. Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have continued to drop from their fall and winter peaks, and vaccination rates have continued to climb.

Is this it? Is America finally inching back to the pre-Covid-19 normal — the life many of us desperately miss?

Experts are of two minds. On the one hand, things are heading in the right direction: Negative outcomes from Covid-19 are falling and the vaccine rollout is steadily improving. On the other hand, there’s the