Businesses Now Open In Riverside County: Coronavirus Update

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Under a revised COVID-19 framework released Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Riverside County has been allowed to reopen more business sectors effective Monday. Below is a look at those sectors, and a preview of what the county might be able to reopen in the coming weeks.

As of Monday, Aug. 31, here are the additional business sectors that can reopen, according to the new framework:

—Indoor hair salons and barbershops

—Indoor retail (at a maximum of 25 percent capacity)

—Malls, swap meets and destination centers (at a maximum of 25 percent capacity; food courts and common areas must remain closed)

Sectors that were already open prior to Monday can remain open. They include:

—Critical infrastructure

—Personal care services (outdoor only)

—Museums, zoos, aquariums (outdoor only)

—Places of worship (outdoor only)

—Movie theaters (outdoor only)

—Hotels, lodging

—Gyms, fitness centers (outdoor only)

—Restaurants (outdoor only)

—Wineries (outdoor only)

—Family entertainment centers (outdoor only)

—Cardrooms, satellite wagering (outdoor only)

—Pro sports (no live audiences)

—NOTE: The Riverside County school waiver process that's underway is not impacted by the governor's new framework. Read the latest update on the local school waiver program here and see which campuses can reopen.

—NOTE: Offices that do not serve essential services are remote only. Bars, breweries and distilleries are closed unless they serve meals with drink orders (outdoor service only).

The new framework established a color-coded four-tier system. Riverside County remains in the purple "Widespread" coronavirus risk category. If coronavirus positivity and case rates drop, the county can progress into the red "Substantial" risk category. When that happens, additional industry sectors can reopen. They include:

—Indoor retail (at 50 percent maximum capacity)

—Malls, destination centers, swap meets (at 50 percent maximum capacity with food courts allowed to reopen at reduced capacity; common areas would remain closed)

—Indoor personal care services

—Indoor museums, zoos and aquariums (at 25 percent maximum capacity)

—Indoor places of worship (at 25 percent maximum capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)

—Indoor gyms, fitness centers (at 10 percent capacity)

—Indoor restaurants (at 25 percent capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)

—Schools can reopen on a widespread basis (without a waiver)

Here's a look at the state's color-coded four-tier system, which shows all the tiers and the thresholds needed to progress toward further reopening. Riverside County remains in the purple "Widespread" tier because the county's number of new daily cases (case rate) exceed more than seven per 100,000 people, and its positivity rate is greater than 8 percent.

Counties must remain in a tier for at least 21 days before they can advance to the next color, and cannot "skip" tiers. Here's a look at the business sectors allowed to reopen under each of the four tiers: