SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — After seven weeks of closures, a variety of businesses and retail establishments across California could spring to life in limited fashion as soon as Friday under the first modification to the statewide lockdown order.
Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday the continued stabilization of hospitalization rates and testing improvements has allowed the nation’s most populous state to push forward with the gradual reopening of its economy. The announcement means brick-and-mortar clothing stores, sporting good chains and even florists could potentially be open for curbside pick-up in time for Mother’s Day.
“We are entering into the next phase this week,” Newsom said during a press briefing. “This is a very positive sign that’s happened only for one reason: the data says it can happen.”
Before opening, businesses will need to meet conditions and guidelines set by local public health officials while rural counties that have seen a lack of coronavirus cases will be allowed to go further than urban areas. For the time being, shopping malls, bars and offices will remain closed, Newsom said.
While far from the full reopening many counties and cities have been pushing for, the announcement represents the first step toward normalcy for California, the first state to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order on March 19. As it has worldwide, the pandemic has shattered California’s finances and sent over 4 million residents to the unemployment lines in less than two months.
Newsom cast the pending modifications as a sort of tryout for business owners willing to open “thoughtfully and judiciously,” but reiterated the lockdown will be quickly reinstated if the state experiences a surge in new cases or deaths. He added that individual counties will have the ability to enact stricter guidelines if necessary.
In-store shopping and seated dining remain barred but businesses will be allowed to offer curbside pickup and takeout orders. The second phase of Newsom’s “recovery roadmap” will also allow the retail manufacturers and related supply chains to reopen.
“This is an optimistic day as we see a little ray of sunshine on the horizon,” Newsom said.
Over the last week, a variety of small businesses have ignored the statewide order and resumed on their own. Barbershops, tattoo parlors and retailers have already reopened in counties like Modoc, Sutter and Yuba counties.
When asked about the rebellions, Newsom hinted there could be consequences and that the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control has already investigated 81 establishments for potentially violating the lockdown order.
With more than 10,000 ventilators available and 14 emergency hospitals sitting empty, the former San Francisco mayor has decided to give back local officials some control. Newsom said he expects local officials to embrace the modification and implement individual public safety plans by the end of the work week.
“Many of these counties, many of these regions have done already a ton of work in this space and they’re ready to go,” Newsom said. “I have great expectation that you’re going to see a lot of these communities with local certification in place.”
Improvements in the state’s testing and contact tracing capabilities drove Monday’s announcement, as the state is now testing over 30,000 people per day and teaming with two major universities on an online program to train tracers or so-called “disease detectives.”
Both county and state employees will go through a 20-hour training course provided by the University of California, San Francisco and UCLA and be re-deployed to help trace the spread of the virus. The state hopes to train up to 20,000 tracers and make them available to the state’s 61 local public health agencies.
Individual cities continue to expand testing programs beyond people with symptoms, as on Monday San Francisco announced all essential workers can be tested for free. Mayor London Breed said the announcement is a key step toward reaching universal testing for all San Francisco residents.
Follow @@NickCahill_5
