A third of U.S. small businesses have reinstated COVID-19 restrictions, survey finds

A third of small business owners across the U.S. have voluntarily reinstated pandemic restrictions during the latest surge in COVID-19 cases, new data show.

That's a big change from as early as May, when 85% of small businesses were fully open as infections subsided and government-mandated rules for businesses lifted. But by August that figure had dropped to 63%, according to a survey by Kabbage, a small business lender owned by American Express. 

Among the safety measures that employers have reinstituted as the Delta variant spread are limiting customer capacity as well as requiring that both workers and patrons be vaccinated.