The governor on Monday noted during his daily coronavirus briefing that should the positive rate be held down, in-person retail options and sporting events without spectators could begin to resume in the first week of June.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced the loosening of tight stay-at-home orders and shutdowns, declaring that 53 of the 58 state counties are eligible to move into phase two of reopening if they choose to.
During his daily coronavirus briefing, the governor noted that the loosening of stay-at-home orders is dependent on the number of COVID-19-related deaths in the previous two weeks. Counties will be able to move toward reopening if they can prove that there have been no more than 25 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days. Counties should also show that less than 8 percent of residents tested for the virus over a seven-day period were positive.
Newsom emphasized that they're looking at the "positivity rate" of cases. Should the positive rate be held down, in-person retail options, hair salons and sporting events without spectators could begin to resume in the first week of June. He also announced the allowance for counseling services for houses of worship and for clergy leaders to meet, but they're more than "a few weeks away" from congregations gathering.
To move into the next phase, a county also must show that hospitalizations for COVID-19 patients did not increase by more than 5 percent over a seven-day period or that it did not have more than a 5 percent increase or no more than 20 hospitalizations on any single day over a seven-day period.
"We are moving forward to allow some of the larger counties to continue to make progress deeper into phase two and to do so effective immediately but on their own pace," the governor said. "We want to make sure that the counties have thoughtful plans to potentially reinstate the stay-at-home-orders that we are relaxing today."
"The bottom line is: People can go at their own pace, and we are empowering our local health directors and county officials that understand their local communities and conditions," Newsom added.
During the press briefing, the governor applauded the state's progress. In the recent weeks, there has been a 7.5 percent decline in hospitalizations and an 8.7 percent decline in ICU patients over a 14-day period. As of Monday, Newsom said, California has 51.6 million masks in possession, and over 57,000 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.
He emphasized that despite the loosening of rules, the virus "has not gone away" as another 41 COVID-19-related deaths occurred in the state in the last 24 hours.
