Coronavirus updates: Newsom loosens California reopening criteria as testing increases
Adjustments by businesses and local elected officials continue as a growing number of mostly rural California counties have received clearance to partially reopen with a number of social distancing protocols.
A total of 24 counties, with the most recent addition of Trinity on Monday morning, have had their “attestation” documents approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office as of Monday, meaning they can reopen dine-in restaurants and retail stores under certain conditions.
But now, most of the rest of California’s counties could soon join.
Newsom announced during Monday’s news conference that the state will loosen its criteria for counties to accelerate further in Phase 2, removing the previous qualification of recording no coronavirus deaths in a 14-day span.
Counties that want to speed up their reopening can’t have more than a 5 percent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last seven days on average. Smaller counties, where a single new hospitalized patient could skew the percentage, will have to show that they had fewer than 20 COVID-19 patients hospitalized on any day in the past 14 days. Counties would also need to show that they had no more than 25 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days, or a positive test rate of less than 8 percent.
The governor said 53 of California’s 58 counties meet these new requirements, though he did not specify which five counties did not meet the criteria. Health officials in Los Angeles County, which is home to roughly 10 million of California’s 40 million residents but has so far accounted for more than half the state’s COVID-19 deaths at over 1,800, recently said stay-at-home orders would stay in place there through at least July.
Tuesday will mark two full months since Newsom issued his statewide stay-at-home mandate to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
More than 3,300 Californians have died of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the highly contagious virus, and over 80,000 have been infected, according to a Sacramento Bee survey of counties’ public health departments.
Newsom and the state Department of Public Health in recent weeks allowed for regional or county “variance” in reopening, which followed local leaders arguing that more sparsely populated parts of the state would suffer unneeded economic damage from a statewide, one-size-fits-all reopening plan.
The previous requirement of no deaths for 14 days had disqualified a number of large and middling population counties that met most of the other requirements to reopen restaurant dining rooms and retail stores. For Sacramento County, the two-week clock had started over again Monday, with one new death reported. Yolo County reported two fatalities early last week.
Phase 3, including sports with no spectators, could be weeks away
Newsom also said during Monday’s briefing that professional sports could be allowed to resume play within California by early June, but with no fans in attendance.
He also said he expects to modify statewide orders in coming weeks that will allow in-store retail shopping, barbers and salons to open, which make up Phase 3 of Newsom’s four-phase reopening plan. Places of worship could also reopen within a few weeks.
Increase in testing, nearing goal
The state has tested about 1.3 million people for COVID-19, including 57,000 in the past day, Newsom said Monday.
Newsom has previously pointed to a range of about 60,000 to 80,000 daily test as a goal.
“We’re making real progress,” he said.
Latest Sacramento-area numbers: Nearly 90 dead, over 1,650 infected
Sacramento County public health officials have reported 1,245 cases of the coronavirus and 56 deaths, last updated Monday. One newly reported fatality came Sunday and another Monday, with the latest reported in the city of Sacramento. Eight additional cases were reported Monday.
Yolo County has confirmed 184 total cases and 22 deaths, with no new cases as of Monday. Fifteen of those deaths — including at least one staff member — have come at Stollwood Convalescent Hospital, located within the St. John’s Retirement Village campus in Woodland, according to the county website.
Placer County reported 175 cases and eight deaths, last updated Monday morning. The county added one case Sunday, but its last death was reported on April 15.
El Dorado County reported 67 cases and no deaths. It added three new cases Monday.
Sutter County added one infection Saturday and two Sunday, bringing its total case count to 40. Two people have died there. Yuba County has seen 28 cases, including two new confirmations Monday, and one death.
Tribal casinos prepare reopening protocols
Some Northern California tribal casinos are targeting early June, while others that have not given an estimated timeline to reopen are making big changes to their business models in preparation for that day.
Tribes, which are considered sovereign nations, technically have the authority to reopen the casinos with or without the state’s or Newsom’s blessing. Still, most of them throughout the state closed about two months ago, along with all other entertainment venues across California.
Changes at properties within driving distance of Sacramento will likely include increased sanitation, social distancing measures, lowered capacities and mandatory face coverings.
Red Hawk Casino in Shingle Springs, for instance, said employees will wear masks. Guests will have to wear them, too, and masks “will be available to purchase for guests who need one,” the casino said on its website. Plastic barriers “may be installed in areas of the casino, where appropriate, for the safety of our guests and team members.” Red Hawk hasn’t announced an opening date.
Cache Creek Casino Resort plans to open “as early as June, if all goes well,” general manager Kari Stout-Smith said in a video posted on the casino’s website. Cache Creek is installing “touchless thermal scans,” removing some of its slots and table games, and plans to require masks of guests and customers alike. And building occupancy “will be strictly limited” to improve social distancing, Smith said.
Reminder: Newsom’s 4-phase reopening plan for California
The governor at the end of April laid out what he called a four-phase or four-stage plan to reopen the state’s economy, which has been decimated by the pandemic and ensuing shutdowns.
Over 4.5 million in California have filed for unemployment insurance since March 12, with anticipation growing as employers and workers alike seek time frames for reopening. Newsom last week unveiled a new state budget plan with significant cuts to education and pensions.
Under Newsom’s plan, Phase 1 represented essentially the full stay-at-home order in effect with all restrictions intact. Residents were not allowed to leave home except for essential reasons, such as shopping for groceries or supplies; to go to work at an essential job; or for exercise purposes, such as walking or jogging. The restrictions prohibit gatherings of any size except with members of one’s own household.
Phase 2, which is where we are now, allows for a number of businesses considered to have a comparatively low risk for virus transmission to open back up. These include retail, manufacturing, office jobs where telework is not possible, in-restaurant dining and some shopping malls. California is in the midst of Phase 2 now, with curbside pickup allowed everywhere while in-restaurant dining and in-store shopping are only permitted in 24 approved counties.
Phase 3 will see the reopening of higher-risk personal service businesses, such as barbershops and nail salons —where physical distancing is impossible — and fitness centers, where shared surfaces are touched frequently. Newsom suggested in late April that Phase 3 may be months away at that point.
Phase 4 represents the full lifting of stay-at-home restrictions, and would allow for large gatherings like concerts, sporting events, graduation ceremonies and more to resume. Newsom has says Phase 4 cannot be reached until there is an effective treatment or vaccine available, or if herd immunity is reached.
State prisons to resume inmate intake starting next week
The California state prison system plans to resume accepting new prisoners from county jails starting May 26, a move that will bring in thousands of people during the pandemic.
So far, 648 inmates have tested positive for coronavirus and five have died, with all of the deaths at the California Institution for Men in Chino, according to the California Department of Corrections.
CDCR stopped prison intake on March 24. Inmates’ attorneys argue allowing intake to resume next week will lead to more outbreaks.
World numbers: More than 318,000 dead, over 90,000 in U.S.
The global infection total for COVID-19 was nearly 4.8 million by Monday evening, and the disease has killed more than 318,000 people worldwide, according to data maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
The United States makes up more than 1.5 million of those confirmed coronavirus cases and just over 90,000 of the fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins. New York state has surpassed 28,000 deaths, with New Jersey over 10,000. Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Massachusetts each have reported over 4,000 dead.
Following the U.S., the United Kingdom has suffered nearly 35,000 COVID-19 fatalities, then Italy at 32,000, France at 28,000 and Spain at 27,500.
Another 16,000 have died in Brazil. Turkey, China, Mexico, the Netherlands, Canada, Iran, Germany and Belgium each report between about 4,000 and 9,000 coronavirus deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.
What is COVID-19? How is the coronavirus spread?
Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The CDC says it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 7:38 AM.
