Salons, gyms and other businesses must close as SLO County remains on watch list
Several San Luis Obispo County business sectors will be forced to close again on Thursday to slow the spread of coronavirus as cases continue to rise locally.
Gyms and fitness centers, places of worship, indoor protests, non-essential offices, personal care services like nail salons and tattoo parlors, hair salons and indoor malls will have to close or limit operations to outdoor services only, according to a county news release.
These businesses were the last to reopen under the phased reopening plan.
According to county data, San Luis Obispo County has exceeded the case rate criteria to remain open — an average of less than 100 positive cases per 100,000 people over the last 14 days — for three days in a row. The county was placed on the watch list Monday.
As of Wednesday, the county has had a total of 1,112 local COVID-19 cases, 386 of which are currently active.
“This is our opportunity to slow the spread of COVID-19 here in SLO County, and we should each be doing everything we can to lower our case rate,” Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said in the release. “This is discouraging news, but we do not want to see a surge in hospitalized cases here.”
Earlier this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that bars, breweries, and pubs need to close entirely, unless they are offering sit-down meals outdoors. Indoor restaurant services were also ordered to stop.
Additionally, dine-in restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums, cardrooms were all ordered to close indoor operations.
