San Diego County gets the OK from state to resume dine-in at restaurants and in-store shopping
Resumption of inside dining and retail shopping is expected to go into effect as soon as businesses file required paperwork.
San Diego County received word Wednesday night that its request to allow dining at restaurants and in-store shopping was approved, setting the stage for a rapid reopening, although with social distancing restrictions.
The approval came a day after the Board of Supervisors gave the go-ahead for the county to accelerate its progression in Stage 2 of easing of coronavirus restrictions, which would allow retail shopping and restaurants to cater to in-person patrons while abiding by strict guidelines to stem the spread of the virus.
Actual reopening of restaurants and shops cannot begin, though, until businesses fill out the county’s Safe Reopening Plan form and post it publicly, county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said in a tweet Wednesday night.
State approval still needed; next is a pilot program to include salons and gyms
The order from the California Department of Public Health stated that San Diego and a number of other counties can now “move more quickly through Stage 2 opening sectors once state guidance is posted for that sector.”
A spokesman for the San Diego County chapter of the California Restaurant Association said Wednesday that he believes such guidance has already been issued and the resumption of dining should take place immediately.
“Our interpretation is that it is effective immediately,” said Chris Duggan of the California Restaurant Association.
The county Department of Environmental Health previously notified restaurant operators of what steps they will be required to take before reopening dine-in service. Among the measures are conducting thermal or temperature scans of employees daily; spacing all tables six feet apart or, if unmovable, installing a barrier between tables; requiring diners to wear facial coverings when not seated at their table; and disinfecting restrooms and “high contact touch points” frequently. Tableside food preparation and self-serve buffets and salad bars are prohibited.
The county was eligible to advance further into Stage 2 of California’s Resiliency Roadmap because it hit several of the revised reopening criteria laid out by the governor, including experiencing a stabilization of new COVID-19 cases and having appropriate testing and hospital capacity.
For example, the new rules require counties to have no more than 8 percent of tests conducted coming back positive, a threshold San Diego County is meeting with a rolling two-week average of positive tests at less than 5 percent.
