When U.S. borders open to foreign travelers on Nov. 8, the country will have lifted one of the longest-standing restrictions imposed 19 months ago at the start of the pandemic, signaling a new phase of guarded optimism in the nation’s battle with Covid-19.

With the Delta variant surge easing and vaccinations opening to more age groups, many places are dropping mask mandates or other restrictions on vaccinated people. The pullback represents a bet that the most recent surge could be the last.

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When U.S. borders open to foreign travelers on Nov. 8, the country will have lifted one of the longest-standing restrictions imposed 19 months ago at the start of the pandemic, signaling a new phase of guarded optimism in the nation’s battle with Covid-19.

With the Delta variant surge easing and vaccinations opening to more age groups, many places are dropping mask mandates or other restrictions on vaccinated people. The pullback represents a bet that the most recent surge could be the last.

San Francisco recently eased mask mandates for offices, gyms and other places where fewer than 100 people gather and proof of vaccination is required. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he is hoping to ease some mask requirements for the holidays as long as case numbers continue to fall. Hawaii will begin to welcome visitors Nov. 1 after asking them in August to voluntarily delay their trips.

“Our hospitals are doing better and seeing fewer patients,” Hawaii Gov. David Ige said in a tweet. “This gives us the ability to move forward in our economic recovery and safely welcome back fully vaccinated domestic travelers.”

Buffalo, N.Y., is looking forward to the return of Canadian shoppers, diners and sports fans from across the Peace Bridge.

Photo: lindsay dedario/Reuters

Schools are back in person. Restaurants are open. Public transportation is largely running regular hours. Airports are crowded and many planes are full. Sports arenas are teeming with cheering fans. And pumpkin patches are having a banner year.

“Last year, we said Thanksgiving can’t be like other Thanksgivings. Stay home, in your family unit, and don’t celebrate; we’re not doing that this year,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot last Monday. “That is because of the vaccine. It’s made a world of difference.”

As Covid-19 cases from the Delta variant begin to come down, the country appears to have turned another corner in its long battle against the pandemic. The seven-day moving average of cases declined to about 75,800 by Thursday, less than half the level hit in early September when the Delta variant’s surge appeared to peak, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Case counts in nearly all states hit hard by the Delta surge appear to be in retreat. Hospitalizations have also been declining at the national level, marking another hopeful sign.

There are other signs a return to normalcy may be a long way off. The seven-day average for Covid-19 deaths, a lagging indicator, has recently been roughly 1,500 a day. With winter on the way, people in cold-weather states will be heading indoors where the virus can easily circulate.

Tourist attractions like the Gateway Arch National Park continue to struggle in St. Louis.

Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

In the U.K., which has a higher vaccination rate than the U.S., Covid-19 cases and deaths have been rising in recent weeks. This marks a warning sign that the U.K.’s bet on immunity when it lifted most Covid-19 restrictions this summer is faltering. Epidemiologists broadly say that steps like mask wearing and avoiding crowded indoor spaces, in addition to vaccinations, are key when it comes to slowing transmission of the virus.

Major drags on the economy, from supply-chain issues to a shortage of workers, remain. Many people aren’t back in the office, for a host of reasons from lack of child care to deciding working from home is working, hurting the economies of business districts in many cities. Public health officials warn new variants could crop up if more people don’t get vaccinated.

Vaccinated international travelers will be able to enter the U.S. by air or land starting Nov. 8, the White House said, one of the last major vestiges of the lockdowns that brought much of daily life in the country to a standstill starting in March 2020.

“It’s a universal excitement here that the border will be reopened. It’s really, truly a sign that things are going to be back to normal,” said Dottie Gallagher, president and chief executive of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce in Buffalo, N.Y., which shares a border with Canada.

“We have a very integrated economy. We really treat it as a bridge, not a border,” she said.

Pumpkin patches have enjoyed a rebound after dealing with Covid-19 restrictions last year.

Photo: Jacqueline Dormer/Associated Press

Fifty-seven percent of her members recently said they have been negatively affected by the border closure. Now, the 10% of Buffalo Bills season ticket holders who are Canadian and the legions of Canadians who attend Buffalo Sabres hockey games can finally come back, as well as Canadian shoppers and diners, Ms. Gallagher said.

Marissa Bona, owner of a vintage clothing store called Paloma Exchange in Buffalo, said that her business is having its best month of the pandemic so far.

“There’s still that uncertainty. I don’t know when that will ever really go away when maybe there’s another quarantine or shutdown still on the horizon or things will take a turn in terms of the variant or a new strain,” she said. “Keeping staff and customers safe is what I’m always thinking about.”

Still, life in many parts of the country hasn’t returned to a pre-pandemic normal.

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“As far as the demand, people are coming into the restaurants—that part of Covid is kind of behind us,” said Joe McConville, chef and partner in a group that owns eight restaurants, including Gusto Pizza and Anna Dolce Ristorante in Des Moines, Iowa. The worker shortage eased a bit over the summer but has gotten bad again, he said. “I don’t know anybody who has a restaurant that is fully staffed.”

He also has to make multiple trips a week to Costco, Sam’s Club and regular grocery stores for chicken nuggets and other items that used to just show up on the delivery truck. “We’ve been out of just about everything,” he said.

In St. Louis, tourist attractions like the Gateway Arch National Park continue to struggle, in part because the pod-like elevators that ferry visitors to the top are still operating under reduced capacity, and a major festival on the grounds was canceled two years in a row.

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Through September this year, 928,000 people had visited the arch, almost triple the total through the same time last year but still running behind the pace of around 1.9 million for all of 2019, according to National Park Service data.

Still, there are bright spots—like pumpkin patches, which are doing a brisk business this year after facing tougher Covid-19 restrictions last year.

“It didn’t look like a pandemic here yesterday, tell you that,” said Jean Hannemann, one of the owners of Linvilla Orchards in Media, Pa., near Philadelphia, an apple orchard with a pumpkin patch, hay ride and a game that allows visitors to shoot apples at targets using an air-powered blaster. She said a combination of rain on a recent Saturday and nice weather the next day made the farm extra busy.

Paul Hellerick, of Hellerick’s Family Farm in Doylestown, Pa., said his business was up 45% last year since the pandemic had wiped out other forms of family entertainment like football games, youth sports, movies and parties. This year, he expects to do even better with reduced restrictions, but he’s struggling to keep up.

He had a record day on a recent Sunday, but had to recruit his wife, his daughter, his stepdaughter and her fiancé to work, bringing staffing to 11 for the day, compared with the 15 to 20 he would have had last year. “We would not have made it” without the extra help, he said.

—Jon Kamp contributed to this article.

Write to Joe Barrett at joseph.barrett@wsj.com