Santa Clara County gets OK to reopen faster
More businesses can reopen Monday; larger groups can gather
In a sudden about-face, the state approved Santa Clara County’s request to reopen more businesses at a faster clip Tuesday, county officials said.
Most businesses — except those explicitly listed as “high-risk” in the county’s new health order — may reopen with social distancing and mask requirements starting Monday, including long-closed nail and hair salons, barbershops and gyms. Groups of up to 20 people may meanwhile gather indoors, while groups of up to 60 may gather outside.
Approval of the reopening plan came after a baffling back-and-forth with the state over the long weekend, after California public health officials initially rejected the variance request Saturday. State regulators also raised doubts as to whether outdoor din
ing — which opened in the county on June 5 — was allowed, with state regulators warning restaurant owners in Morgan Hill and Gilroy that they were violating state orders and should shut down outdoor service or risk a citation.
“With regard to the process over the last four days, it’s been confusing — and I can’t say that I understand it — but I’m glad it got resolved,” Santa Clara County CEO Jeff Smith said Tuesday.
He added that the initial denial of the variance stemmed from differences in the way the county and state were calculating the seven-day average for hospitalization increases related to COVID-19.
New coronavirus cases have steadily increased across the county over the past eight weeks, reaching the highest-ever seven-day average of 163 new cases Monday, compared with a low of just 13 average weekly new cases in midMay. About 4% of hospital beds on average are taken by suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients, up from about 2% in midJune.
The variance will allow the county’s latest public health order to take effect, paving the way for many more businesses to open up. Those already operating must submit new documents outlining social distancing protocols to the county on or before Monday, when the order takes effect.
Under the plan approved Tuesday, outdoor dining establishments may remain open — providing muchneeded clarity for restaurant owners who watched, horrified, as armed agents with California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control arrived
to shut them down Friday night.
Rosy Bergin, owner of Rosy’s at the Beach in downtown Morgan Hill, kept her restaurant open Monday because she felt confident the state had made some sort of mistake.
“I just feel like everybody’s working hard, and to have something like this happen, it’s kind of a kick,” Bergin said.
Still, indoor dining won’t be allowed to reopen for now, joining a list of other high-risk businesses that inherently require removing a face covering such as swimming pools, smoking lounges, saunas,
steam rooms and heated exercise studios, the order explains. Nightclubs, indoor bars, sports stadiums and arenas, amusement and theme parks, concert venues and indoor playgrounds must likewise remain closed.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo acknowledged the state’s approval of the reopenings in a tweet Tuesday morning, crediting the move with “saving perhaps thousands of jobs and keeping hundreds of small businesses open.”
“This variance will allow more families to support themselves while businesses comply with strict
safety guidelines — saving livelihoods and lives,” the mayor added in a statement.
The reopening shifts the county’s strategy in fighting the spread of the coronavirus to a “risk reduction” model rather than a blanket stay-at-home order, Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said Tuesday.
“We know that this pandemic has been with us for a while, and we know it’s going to be with us for a while longer. … This new order does not mean ‘We’re open, let’s get back to our lives,’ ” Cody said, adding, “We need to conduct our lives differently.”