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Indoor dining establishments, gyms, museums and theme parks may begin to reopen as early as this weekend in parts of Southern California.
But the exact timing differs by county, and some things are still pending.
Here’s a breakdown:
Which counties reopen and when?
ALSO EARLY SUNDAY: Thirteen counties – Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Amador, Colusa, Contra Costa, Mendocino, Mono, Placer, San Benito, Siskiyou, Sonoma and Tuolumne – will leave the most proscriptive purple level of the state’s reopening plan on Sunday, according to the California Department of Public Health.
ALSO EARLY WEDNESDAY: 13 other counties – Sacramento, San Diego, Riverside, Ventura, Kings, Lake, Monterey, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare and Yuba – are set to join the red level as early as Wednesday, provided their metrics of coronavirus remain stable. When to reopen these counties remains an open question until data is entered.
What’s the plan in Los Angeles County?
LA County health officials – as well as Long Beach and Pasadena city health departments – said the red-level reopens would take effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
LA County health official Dr Muntu Davis said the decision to wait until Monday “is really to give businesses time” to prepare and appropriately modify their operations if necessary.
“We want them to understand what the requirements are, to have the time to put these things in place,” he said in a briefing on Friday.
Does that include the city of Los Angeles?
Yes, the new rules apply to all cities in LA County.
What about Orange County?
Orange County plans to begin reopening on Sunday.
In an interview on Friday, Lisa Bartlett, Orange County Supervisor, said: “It feels like we are finally turning the corner and people are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
“Orange County had been hovering at the 7 mark for a long period of time, and we couldn’t really get through that,” Bartlett said, referring to the target for the daily rate of new coronavirus infections. that the county was to meet. go to the red level. “Now we have a buffer, so even if we were to see a slight increase in cases, we would still stay in the red level.”
What about San Bernardino County?
San Bernardino also makes the change on Sunday.
“People across our county have worked tirelessly over the past year to protect each other’s health and safety,” San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman said in a statement. “This is a community-wide effort involving everyone from healthcare professionals and essential workers to businesses and residents following strict public health protocols. Our diligence is now starting to bear fruit. “
What does going red mean?
Red level counties will be allowed to resume indoor dining in restaurants and movie theaters at 25% capacity, re-welcoming students in person from 7th to 12th grade, reopen indoor gyms and dance and yoga studios to 10% capacity, and expand capacity restrictions in non-essential stores and libraries.
Museums, zoos and aquariums can also reopen indoor operations, at 25% capacity.
Theme parks can reopen at 15% of its capacity, with further modifications, from April 1. Attractions closed for a long time such as Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain are still weeks away from welcoming visitors – who must be California residents – again after being closed for a year.
Outdoor sports – with fans – and live outdoor shows will also be allowed to resume on April 1, subject to the following limitations: for counties still at the strictest level, purple, capacity will still be limited to 100 people or less, and attendance will be regionally restricted. Advance reservations will be required and there will be no concession or sales in the hall. In the red level, the available capacity will increase and will be limited to 20%, with sales mainly in concession at the head office.
Words of warning?
Yes.
Opening more wards isn’t a reason Californians to let their guard down, Dr Mark Ghaly, Secretary of State for Health and Human Services, said in a briefing Friday. He said there were still reasons to be cautious about participating in newly licensed activities, such as eating indoors at restaurants, as any place where people are not wearing masks all the time. time carries a risk of infection.
Mixing with people from another household, for example, should always be done with care, and it is still safer to dine outside than inside in a mixed group setting, he said. .
Davis, the Los Angeles County health official, warned that eating in a restaurant’s indoor dining room always comes with risks and eating out is safer.
“People are susceptible to this virus. There is variants that circulate in our county, ”said Davis. “Many of these diseases can be more easily transmitted and some can cause more serious diseases.”
The lingering risk of eating indoors at restaurants is one reason LA County requires those who eat together to live in the same household. However, people from a maximum of three households are allowed to dine at the same table outside.
Davis said it was probably best for people who high risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19 to avoid eating inside a restaurant.
LA County supervisor Hilda Solis called the upcoming move “good news,” but warned “there’s no way we can let our guard down now,” she said in a statement. “We owe it to our neighbors, our local businesses and our children to remain vigilant to ensure that reopening is safe and sustainable. Wearing masks and physical distance remain essential. “
Are some counties heading towards the second least restrictive level, orange soon?
In the Bay Area, San Mateo County appears to be on track to move towards the orange level on Wednesday. In the orange level, counties can allow bars to reopen outdoors with modifications without the need to serve food; capacity restrictions are lifted in stores (although pandemic security changes still apply); the capacity of indoor places of worship, museums, zoos and aquariums increases from 25% to 50%; the capacity of indoor restaurants and cinemas is reduced from 25% of capacity or 100 people, whichever is less, to 50% of capacity or 200 people, whichever is less; and the capacity of indoor gymnasiums and yoga studios increases from 10% to 25%.
What have been the recent changes to breweries, vineyards and distilleries?
New rules were put in place on Saturday to govern breweries, wineries and distilleries that do not serve food. The status quo, however, will remain a distant concept, even in the most lenient category of the state. reopening plan in four categories.
At establishments located in counties that are either in the purple or red level, the two more stringent, customers will be required to make reservations and will be subject to a 90-minute time limit, and on-site consumption must stop before 8 p.m., according to the state’s new health orientation, which is effective Saturday.
These businesses can begin to open indoors as their home country progresses, although capacity is limited to 25% or 100 people, whichever is less, in the more lenient Orange tier. ; and 50% or 200 people, whichever is less, in the less stringent yellow level.
Breweries, wineries and distilleries that serve food will continue to be governed by the same rules that apply to restaurants.
Despite the easing of restrictions for some establishments serving alcohol, bars that do not serve food will remain completely closed in the purple and red bleachers.
However, these can reopen to the outside with changes in the orange level. Beginning Saturday, bars will be able to open indoors in yellow-tier counties, if those counties allow, with a capacity limited to 25% or 100 people, whichever is less.
While the new guidelines pave the way for counties to toast additional reopenings, it remains to be seen whether local health workers will go as far as the state allows.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has yet to announce whether it will align its brewery, vineyard and distilleries guidelines with the state.
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