Santa Cruz County allows in-store retail, some personal services to reopen
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION)
UPDATE 5/26/2020 2:30 p.m. Santa Cruz County's Health Officer has issued a revised Shelter in Place order to align with the state.
Under the new order, the county will allow office work spaces, in-store retail, places of worship, manufacturing, some personal services, protests and outdoor museums to open. The order goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.
Businesses are required to comply with social distancing protocols and the county's face covering order.
“As we move forward with these changes, I want to caution everyone that COVID-19 is still present in our community. Anyone who is 65 years old or older, as well as those who are medically vulnerable, should continue sheltering in place,” County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said. “I urge all members of our community to help those who need to shelter by continuing to offer help and check in.”
Child care is open to the children of workers and volunteers in all open sectors, and guidance can be found here.
In-store retail will also need to follow state guidance here.
Religious services and funerals can be held again, but attendance is limited to 25% of a building's capacity or 100 people, whichever is lower. State guidance can be found here.
“As we did with curbside retail, we went ahead of the Bay Area counties first," Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin said. "This would also put us ahead of the Bay Area counties as far as the variance process goes.”
Restaurants are still only allowed to offer takeout or delivery options. Dine-in service is not allowed until counties enter the Stage 2 of reopening extension. The county said it has started the process of applying, and it is expected to be submitted on June 2.
Beaches will still be closed from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The order is set to expire July 1.
PREVIOUS STORY: Retail businesses like stores and malls are set to begin reopening in Santa Cruz County tomorrow, but not without some rules.
Preventative measures like social distancing, designated entrances and exits and touch less pay devices will be used.
Temperature checks for employees will also be conducted at some stores.
This comes after Governer Gavin Newsom announced retail businesses are ready to reopen state wide.
He left the decision up to all counties to reopen retail businesses regardless of their status.
Santa Cruz County was quick to jump on the opportunity and is expected to release a revised shelter in place order today.
Along the Central Coast, San Benito County was allowed to reopen after being approved to move into phase 2 of the state's reopening.
Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties have not yet shown to meet all the safety criteria to move forward.
Locals in Santa Cruz County say they are on the fence about going back out again.
"I just hope we all behave like grown ups. I hope it's not rushing things for folks and that everybody knows it's not a sign just to go crazy," says resident Jessie Schecter.
Santa Cruz County officials say precautionary measures will be taken to ensure the safety of shoppers.
"It's going to look different to people but we do want to move slowly through this process," says Santa Cruz spokesperson Jason Hoppin.
Santa Cruz County is still in early stages of phase two reopening.
Restaurants are still take-out only and salons remain closed.
Santa Cruz County officials say they hope reopening retail businesses will begin to stimulate the local economy.
Monterey County will discuss moving forward at a Board of Supervisors meeting later tonight.
