Yolo County given approval to reopen restaurants for dine-in service, retail shops

Yolo County got the all-clear from state health officials to reopen restaurants for dine-in service and shopping malls with modifications Wednesday evening.

Yolo County is the last county in the six-county Sacramento region to get the green light to move fully into Phase 2 of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to slowly lift the statewide stay-at-home order meant to slow the coronavirus spread. A total of 37 of the state’s 58 counties have been given that approval.

Moving into Phase 2 — which allows a plethora of facilities to reopen with safety measures, including restaurants, shopping malls and schools — is a “a way for people to regain a sense of normalcy,” Yolo County Board Chair Gary Sandy previously told The Bee.

It’s unclear, however, how soon retail stores and restaurants in Yolo County will actually be able to open their doors again. Though the state has given Yolo County the green light, Sandy previously told The Bee that business owners might have to wait another week until local officials give the all clear.

He said county officials want to plan ahead and make sure they communicate health guidelines — encouraging the use of face coverings, social distancing and temperature checks — to businesses to avoid risky behavior.

“We don’t want to go backwards,” Sandy said. “We want to plan properly. We want people to enjoy themselves, and enjoy themselves safely.”

Several businesses are still not allowed to resume until Phase 3, including nail salons, tattoo parlors, gyms, bars, indoor museums and universities.

Yolo County got state approval to reopen restaurants and stores after submitting an attestation to the California Department of Public Health proving it has sufficiently slowed infections and would be able to manage future outbreaks.

So far, 185 people have been infected with the virus in the county, and 22 have died. Fifteen of those deaths have come at Stollwood Convalescent Hospital, located within the St. John’s Retirement Village campus in Woodland — the deadliest outbreak at a skilled nursing facility in the region.