Newsom: Some businesses could reopen within weeks
SACRAMENTO — California businesses seen as presenting less risk of spreading the coronavirus could open in the near future under a plan Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled Tuesday, the first of several slow steps toward easing the statewide shutdown order.
“We believe we are weeks, not months, away from making meaningful modifications,” of the current restrictions, Newsom said.
But Newsom’s announcement of a fourphase plan did not come with a guaranteed timetable. He said while current public health indicators such as hospitalizations and testing capacity look promising, additional progress needs to be made.
“Politics will not drive our decision making. Protests won’t drive our decision making. Political pressure will not drive our decision making,” he said.
The plan presented Tuesday envisions four distinct phases for ending the shutdown. The governor said the state is currently in the first phase, marked by efforts to provide an economic safety net for low-wage workers who might otherwise work when sick and encouraging the use of face coverings by residents when in places where they cannot practice safe physical distancing.
The second phase, he said, would allow select businesses to reopen. Those would be deemed “lower risk” and include more curbside options for retail locations, manufacturing sites and small firms with few in-person customers. The change would also loosen limits on access to public spaces, likely including some parks.
Particularly notable is that Newsom’s second phase might include a plan for allowing some K-12 campuses to either offer summer school programs or consider an earlier start to the new school year in order to make up some of the lost educational opportunities. It also would allow more child care facilities to resume operations.
But the proposal comes with sizable caveats. Most importantly, it makes clear that state officials, not local leaders, will decide when to proceed. It also will require businesses that open to keep as many people as possible working from home. And it envisions that employers must be able to ensure that they have established safe workplace conditions.
The program outlined does not offer information on who enforces the rules, or how that enforcement will take place. The statewide order issued by the governor last month has largely relied on local government officials to make sure it’s followed.