SLO County gets OK to reopen dine-in restaurants and retail stores, with restrictions
San Luis Obispo County has been given the green light to “move more quickly through Stage 2 opening sectors” — meaning restaurants and stores can reopen for in-person services to some extent.
“We’re very excited by this development,” Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said at a Wednesday news briefing.
“We will continue our mitigation measures, we will continue to work with all the businesses to put smart measure into place as they reopn,” she added.
According to the California Public Health Department, San Luis Obispo County has met the criteria needed to move forward.
San Luis Obispo County was one of 29 counties allowed to move forward in the Resilience Roadmap as of Wednesday. Santa Barbara County and Monterey County were not on the list of qualified counties.
Under new state guidelines announced Monday, counties have to show they haven’t had a more than 5% increase in coronavirus hospitalizations in the past week, or that they have had fewer than 20 patients hospitalized on a single day in the past two weeks.
As of Wednesday, San Luis Obispo County had a peak of six residents hospitalized in the past two weeks.
Counties also have to show they have no more than 25 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days, or a positive test rate of less than 8%.
San Luis Obispo County has a population of 283,111, according to census data. In the county’s attestation to move through Stage 2, the county said since May 4, 2020, there have been 42 COVID-19 positive cases, or 14.8 cases per 100,000 people.
From May 12 to 18, less than 1% of all tests were positive in San Luis Obispo County.
San Luis Obispo County submitted paperwork to move forward in Stage 2 on Tuesday with the county Board of Supervisor’s unanimous support.
Another metric for readiness to move forward is the county’s ability to test 1.5 per 1,00 residents each day.
According to San Luis Obispo County officials, from May 12 to 18, 2,440 tests were conducted, which equals 1.23 tests per 1,000 residents. However, the county has the capacity to test more individuals through the state sponsored testing sites.
The county also now has 14 public health employees dedicated to contact tracing.
San Luis Obispo County added two new cases Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases reported locally since March to 249.
What reopening means for SLO County
Retail stores and dine-in restaurants will be allowed to reopen following the state’s industry-specific guidelines on how to reopen safely.
“We may see some increase (in cases), but I’m hopeful that we have done everything that we can to manage this situation at a low level of illness,” Borenstein said.
Before reopening, businesses and restaurants must perform a detailed risk assessment and implement a site-specific COVID-19 plan.
They must train employees on proper safety protocols, implement physical distancing measures, and implements individual control measures and screening. Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said this may include taking employees’ temperatures at the door.
San Luis Obispo County business owners or managers must also complete and sign a COVID-19 Self-Evaluation & Certification form for each business. The form can be found in the county’s Ready to Reopen Toolkit.
Borenstein said county or city officials, employees and customers can request to review the form at any time.
There are also industry-specific guidelines for retail businesses and restaurants to follow.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently released new guidelines for social distancing and health regulations in restaurants once California counties enter the next phase of the state’s reopening plan.
Under the new guidelines, reservations will be more important and people may be asked to wait in their car until a table becomes available. The plan also calls for limited occupancy and required masks and gloves for wait staff.
The retail guidelines detail ways to ensure physical distance between workers and customers, including closing in-store bulk-bin options, and public seating areas, discontinuing product sampling and dedicating store hours for vulnerable populations.
Stores will be required to limit occupancy by 50%.
The guidelines also highly encourage that pick-up and delivery options are available and used when possible.
Bars, brew pubs, breweries and wineries will not be permitted to reopen unless they have a dine-in service.
Other businesses, such as nail salons, tattoo parlors and gyms, will remain closed.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 12:58 PM.
