Days, Not Weeks: Gov. Newsom Says He's Close To Announcing Plans To Allow More Businesses To Reopen
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state is close to announcing changes to the stay-at-home order that will allow more businesses to reopen.
However, he cautioned that it's all dependent on people continuing to follow social distancing.
At his daily press conference on Friday, Newsom said he is days - not weeks - away from modifying the stay-at-home order.
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"We'll get there much sooner than many people perhaps think," Newsom said.
.@GavinNewsom: I'm looking forward to next week making a very constructive announcement in this space [some businesses reopening]. I want to assure you if we can hold the line and cont. to do good work... we'll get there much sooner than many people perhaps think. @CBSSacramento
— Dina Kupfer (@DinaKupfer) May 1, 2020
The changes are expected to be in relation retail, hospital and restaurant sector businesses in Stage 2 of the four-stage plan for reopening California Newsom laid out earlier. He had also said earlier that California was weeks, not months, away from possibly reaching that second stage.
Some businesses have already started to flout the stay-at-home and social distancing order, however.
A restaurant owner in El Dorado County chose to reopen on Friday, saying that she was two months behind on rent and had received eviction notices. A man who owns gyms in Sacramento, San Joaquin and Yolo counties also tried to reopen on Friday but was forced to stop.
Even when the businesses are allowed to reopen during Stage 2, Newsom cautioned that modifications will be "serious."
The governor also said he understood the differentiation between California's urban centers and rural areas.
"We hear you, we're paying attention to you," Newsom said.
The governor's comments were underscored with how Modoc County in far Northern California went forward with their reopening plan in spite of the statewide orders. Modoc County, home to only about 9,000 people, has seen no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at this point.