El Dorado County sends letter to governor saying it intends to reopen key parts of economy

Moving quickly, El Dorado County leaders have sent documentation to Gov. Gavin Newsom saying they are ready to reopen restaurants, stores, some offices and shopping malls immediately as part of the governor’s “regional variance” program that allows counties lightly hit by coronavirus to open earlier than the rest of the state.

Under a plan unveiled Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, counties that meet a series of strict criteria will be allowed to move forward, possibly as earlier as Tuesday, into Phase 2 of the state’s coronavirus battle plan, essentially reopening some lower-risk businesses.

Newsom plans to reveal more details on Tuesday of the concept. But El Dorado County, where some restaurants already have opened in defiance of the governor’s order, said they are ready now to press their case to the state that they believe they can reopen some businesses while keeping COVID-19 cases to a minimum.

El Dorado is one of the first counties to submit a reopening attestation to the state Department of Public Health. San Luis Obispo County and Nevada County also have moved quickly to attest to their readiness to reopen.

“I believe El Dorado County meets or exceeds the criteria the state requires for us to move fully into Stage 2 as quickly as the governor permits,” said health officer Nancy Williams. But Williams and other county officials warned businesses the reopening will require safety steps by individual owners, employees and patrons.

“Businesses ... must understand that they cannot simply turn on the lights, unlock the doors and resume business as usual but that they must first implement the safety guidelines from the state,” Williams said. “And it’s critically important that the public help businesses stay open by adhering to the physical distancing and personal hygiene practices needed for these businesses to remain open.

“I cannot stress this enough: as soon as the additional guidelines for dine-in restaurants, schools, and childcare, as well as for in-store retail business to resume are provided and businesses can thoughtfully develop their plans, those businesses can open, but not beforehand,” Williams said.

“Our residents have been very patient and, as evidenced by the low amount of COVID-19 in El Dorado County, followed the rules in regards to the state’s Stay-At-Home Order and our county’s restrictions,” said board chairman Brian Veerkamp. “I look forward to moving fully into this second stage of providing economic relief to the backbone of the county without unduly endangering our residents or causing an unmanageable surge of cases.”

Under the governor’s plan, counties will have to jump several difficult hurdles in order to reopen restaurants, stores and some offices early, including showing that the infection rate in the county has been less than one case per 10,000 people in the last two weeks and that there have been no deaths from COVID-19 in the last two weeks.

Counties also must have the capacity to test 1.5 per 1,000 residents. It also must have 15 employees trained in contact tracing on staff per 100,000 residents.

As of earlier in the week, El Dorado, a county of nearly 200,000 residents, reported only 3.5 contact tracers on staff, far below the estimated 29 needed. County officials said they are ramping up. In their document sent to the governor, county officials said they have more than 30 staff members, including public health nurses and non-licensed staff, either trained or scheduled for training as COVID-19 case investigators or contact tracers.

The county has had 54 cases, 20 of them in the Lake Tahoe area and 19 of them in El Dorado Hills. Placerville has only recorded five cases.

The county opened two test sites this week at Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs and Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe.

The governor has said the state will move cautiously through re-openings in Phase 2 of a four-step process. He has not said when he expects the state’s counties to be ready to move on to Phase 3.

Phase 3 is expected to include nail salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and fitness studios, bars and lounges, movie theaters, gaming facilities, pro sports, indoor museums, kids museums and gallery spaces, zoos, libraries, community centers, public pools, playgrounds, picnic areas, religious services and cultural ceremonies, nightclubs, concert venues, festivals, theme parks, hotels/lodging for leisure and tourism.

This story was originally published May 9, 2020 at 1:53 PM.