California Governor Continues to Transition Stay-Home Orders with New Modifications

California Governor Gavin Newsom issued new guidance on Tuesday that allows barbershops and hair salons to immediately reopen in counties already cleared to begin lifting COVID-19 stay-home restrictions. That announcement followed others over the weekend that relaxed statewide orders pertaining to retail and places of worship.

The real-time modifications to the state’s guidance allows operations to resume in barbershops and salons on regional basis. Customers and workers must wear face coverings during hair-cutting and other services that require close contact.

So far, 47 of the state’s 58 counties secured variances allowing them to open up sooner, though some of the largest, Los Angeles County and counties across the San Francisco Bay Area, have not yet been granted permission to do so.

Gov. Newsom pointed out that even though parts of the economy and state are moving towards reopening, California is “not even out of first wave,” and the second wave is months off. “By no stretch of the imagination is the virus behind us,” he said. But, he’s seeing progress as the state continues forward “walking into the unknown and untested.”

He notes testing has accelerated from about 2,000 per day to more than 50,000 daily tests. Meanwhile, the positivity rate, which is the ratio of the number of tested who receive a positive test result, is “holding strong” in the 4.1 to 4.2 range over the past seven-and 14-day-periods. “That is encouraging news,” Newsom said, noting it included numbers reported over the holiday weekend.

The state is moving into a period when county and local officials are expected to step into the forefront in fighting the pandemic and providing input regarding reopening their areas. Gov. Newsom said, as the state moves into phase three, there will be “more accountability, more responsibility and more flexibility at the local and regional level. Recognizing one size does not fit all, they can pace accordingly. Some parts of the state won’t pace as quickly into phase three.”

Among the guidelines loosened over the weekend were: Congregants statewide are now allowed to meet at houses of worship with physical modifications. Gatherings are limited to 25% of capacity or 100 people, whichever is lower.

On the retail front, the state is moving beyond just curbside service to allow customers into stores, with physical modifications. The Governor promised additional modifications are ahead pertaining to summer camps, childcare, and schools, while other parts of the economy such as the film industry are gearing up to resume operations.

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