California offers restaurant guidance
Governor’s office urges guest screening, masks
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — California wants restaurants to screen guests for symptoms, have servers wear masks and keep diners at least 6 feet apart under guidance released Tuesday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration didn’t set a strict limit on the number of diners and allows members of different households to go out to eat together. But the state suggested using outdoor seating and encouraging takeout where possible to limit crowds. It also suggested disinfecting menus or providing disposable versions, suspending the use of salt and pepper shakers — or disinfecting them — and putting an end to preset tables.
The guidance applies throughout California, but restaurants can’t reopen for dine-in service until the counties where they are located get state approval for them to do so. More rural areas with few virus cases are expected to reopen dine-in restaurants more quickly, and Butte and El Dorado counties have already been cleared to start.
Meanwhile, Newsom moved to further ease the coronavirus chokehold on California’s economy Tuesday by allowing more businesses to reopen and following through on his promise to swiftly approve requests from counties to move ahead more quickly if they have been minimally harmed by the pandemic.
Business offices can reopen statewide with appropriate precautions if their employees cannot easily telecommute, while malls can begin offering the same curbside pickup already allowed for other retailers, Newsom said.
The state also offered more guidance for resuming the operation of niche businesses including car washes and pet groomers.
In other developments:
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said Tuesday he’ll let gyms and public swimming pools reopen and will allow his stay-at-home order to expire this week. Gyms and pools, among the last remaining facilities that have not been allowed to operate, can open their doors on Wednesday if they follow recommendations from health officials. The governor also invited professional sports to resume without fans.
California State University will hold most fall classes online and leave classrooms closed, Chancellor Timothy White announced Tuesday. Retaining the current closures is necessary because of unknowns about the coronavirus pandemic and how it will play out in coming months, White said in a statement.
New Mexico officials have announced that COVID-19 testing is now available for all workers in the state.
Advice from the nation’s top disease control experts on how to safely reopen businesses and institutions in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic included detailed instructive guidance and some more restrictive measures than the plan released by the White House last month. The guidance, which was shelved by Trump administration officials, also offered recommendations to help communities decide when to shut facilities down again during future flareups of COVID-19. The Associated Press obtained a 63-page document that is more detailed than other, previously reported segments of the shelved guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.