Some CA Restaurants, Malls And Offices Can Reopen: Guidelines

CALIFORNIA — Offices unable to do remote work can now reopen statewide to employees, while shopping malls and restaurants that reopen in certain areas will need to abide by a new set of guidelines, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.

Shopping centers ranging from enclosed outlet malls to open-air strip malls can reopen for curbside pickup only, Newsom said, much like the reopening plan unveiled for retailers last week. Various other businesses including car washes, pet grooming and dog walking can resume work — also with modifications, Newsom said at Tuesday afternoon's news conference.

Meanwhile, two rural Northern California counties will become the first to reopen dine-in restaurants after meeting the state's readiness criteria and developing their own coronavirus containment plans, Newsom announced Tuesday.

El Dorado and Butte counties — which, combined, had 76 confirmed cases as of Tuesday — will move deeper into Stage 2 of the state's four-part reopening plan. In addition to restaurants, the counties can open outdoor museums, in-store retail, all office-based workplaces and all manufacturers supporting retail, according to the state's guidelines.

Restaurants will continue to reopen on a county-by-county basis, rather than a statewide order, by showing that they have relatively contained COVID-19 outbreaks, sufficient testing capacity and a plan to protect vulnerable people and workers, according to a plan Newsom unveiled last week.

Two more counties are expected to approve reopening plans later Tuesday, Newsom said, although he did not specify which.

New guidelines for restaurants that reopen

When dine-in restaurants do reopen statewide, they will still need to comply with a number of new state guidelines intended to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The restrictions, published Tuesday on a state website, include requirements for restaurants to screen employees for high temperatures or other COVID-19 symptoms at the beginning of each shift and provide workers with protective equipment, including face coverings and gloves when necessary.

Restaurant managers must develop a workplace-specific COVID-19 prevention plan at each location and perform a risk assessment for all work areas, the guidelines say. And dine-in restaurants should still continue to encourage takeout and delivery service whenever possible.

Other specific protocols that dine-in restaurants must adhere to include:

• Thorough cleaning of high traffic areas and items often touched by patrons
• Clean "touchable surfaces" between shifts or users, whichever is more frequent, like phones, registers, touchpads/touchscreens, tablets, timeclocks, appliances, kitchen and bar utensils
• Avoid sharing audio equipment, phones, tablets, laptops, desks, pens, and other work supplies wherever possible. Never share PPE.
• Increase air circulation by opening windows or doors, if possible to do so.
• Provide disposable menus to guests and make menus available digitally so that customers can view on a personal electronic device, if possible. If disposable menus cannot be provided, properly disinfect menus before and after customer use.
• Discontinue pre-setting tables with napkins, cutlery, glassware, food ware, etc.
• Suspend use of shared food items such as condiment bottles, salt and pepper shakers, etc. and provide these foods in single serve containers, if possible.
• Pre-roll utensils in napkins prior to use by customers.
• Takeout containers must be filled by customers and available only upon request.
• Discontinue tableside food preparation and presentation such as food item selection carts and conveyor belts, guacamole preparation, etc.

The guidelines will take effect as dine-in service resumes gradually across the state. It will be up to health officials in each county to decide when they are ready to reopen, depending on how well COVID-19 has been contained locally.

Last week, Newsom outlined new safety measures required for retailers, manufacturers and other "low-risk" businesses that were allowed to reopen starting Friday. Those measures include modifications like hands-free devices, outdoor break areas and increased sanitation materials.

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Counties may continue moving into Stage 2

Counties with stricter stay-home orders than the state's can continue to leave those limits in place, Newsom reiterated Tuesday. That includes the six Bay Area counties who announced last week they will not yet allow curbside retail to resume, despite the relaxed limits statewide.

Last week, Newsom and Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, outlined the regional criteria for counties to move deeper into Stage 2. In order for a county to open more businesses in Stage 2, they need to have:

• No more than one COVID-19 case per 10,000 people in the last 14 days.
• No COVID-19 deaths in the past 14 days.
• Minimum daily testing capacity of 1.5 per 1,000 residents.
• Ability to support employees when they are sick or exposed.
• Availability of disinfectant supplies and protective gear.
• At least 15 contact tracers per 100,000 residents.
• Ability to temporarily house at least 15 percent of county residents experiencing homelessness.

Click here to read the full readiness criteria.

Testing, tracing continue to grow

California is now testing an average of 35,000 people per day for the coronavirus, as the state continues to aim for a goal of at least 60,000 daily tests, Newsom said Tuesday.

The state has also opened 76 testing sites in rural areas underserved by the state's initial round of testing sites, Newsom said. That figure is four short of the 80 sites the state planned to open by this week in partnership with OptumServe, as four localities are still negotiating where to place the testing centers, Newsom said.

Meanwhile, Newsom said Tuesday that the first cohort of contact tracers trained through a state "academy" will complete their training by Wednesday or Thursday.

The program, developed in partnership with UC San Francisco and UCLA, opened May 4 and aimed to train at least 20,000 contact tracers. The state hopes to train 3,000 people per week to perform contact tracing, considered a crucial way to follow the spread of COVID-19.

Patch staffer Renee Schiavone contributed to this report.

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know

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• CA Reopening: Gov. Outlines Stage 2 For Retail, Restaurants, More
• California To Ease Restrictions This Week, Move To 'Stage 2'
• CA Schools Could Reopen In July; Businesses Will Be Staggered