‘Today’ show says SLO County will reopen on May 1. That’s not true
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department confirmed Thursday that there is no set date to “reopen” the county after NBC’s “Today” show aired a story with incorrect information.
“With a low number of cases and testing capabilities in place, San Luis Obispo County says some businesses will be free to open May 1, including dine-in restaurants,” NBC national correspondent Miguel Almaguer says in the “Today” clip, which aired Thursday morning.
“THIS IS NOT TRUE,” the county Public Health Department said Thursday via Twitter.
“Despite what some news outlets are reporting, currently there’s no reopening date for the county,” the agency tweeted. “We’re receiving input from local orgs to develop a phased reopening plan but it’s not yet complete.
According to the county, “Today” is “cooperating with us to correct the story.”
“We understand how this misinformation could confuse and frustrate our community,” county Supervisor Lynn Compton, who chairs the Board of Supervisors, said in the release. “We continue to actively reach out to our community to ensure they are fully informed with accurate and timely information, which includes the progress on the county’s phased reopening plan currently in its final stages of development.”
The county said it has heard several rumors claiming that the county will allow businesses to reopen and loosen shelter-at-home restrictions May 1. However, officials say, this is not the case.
San Luis Obispo County is developing a plan to phase out the shelter-at-home order and has allowed eight sectors of business and activities to reopen while still remaining within the guidelines of statewide and county orders.
While county officials said they will have a public phase-out plan as early as next week, the county must wait for the governor’s orders to be lifted — and the plan will only go into place if new coronavirus cases and the number of hospitalized patients remains low, county officials said Monday.
County officials said they will be ready to implement the plan when the governor returns authority back to the counties, according to the news release. But until then, San Luis Obispo County will continue to shelter at home.
