Some California Businesses Could Reopen As Soon As Friday, Gov. Newsom Says

Updated 5:49 p.m.

Retailers and some manufacturers may be able to resume operations as soon as the end of this week as California begins to move into a reopening phase amid a global pandemic. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom said floral shops and stores that sell clothing, books, toys, sporting goods can begin opening for curbside pickup as the state begins to move into the next phase of its four-phase reopening plan. Offices, malls and dine-in restaurants will not be allowed to open yet. 

“We will be anticipating moving into stage two, but we will do so in a way that is measured and thoughtful,” said State Health Officer Dr. Sonia Angell. 

On Thursday the state will release guidance for businesses who want to reopen for curbside pickup, which will include implementing physical distancing, sanitation and other health measures.

Counties can choose to delay allowing businesses to open, Newsom said, citing the Bay Area as an example of an area that may remain locked down beyond Friday. 

Counties can also request to reopen sooner, but must submit proof that they meet criteria to safely allow additional businesses to resume operations. Three counties — Modoc, Sutter and Yuba — have already allowed some business to reopen. 

But Newsom said the announcement that the state is closer to reopening is not politically motivated. 

“This is a very positive sign and it’s happened only for one reason: the data says it can happen,” Newsom said. 

Coronavirus hospitalizations have remained flat for at least two weeks statewide. Newsom said there are now around 30,000 tests for the disease being conducted a day. He set a goal to get to an average of 25,000 by the end of April, but has said the state will need to see at between 60,000-80,000 tests per day to better track the virus.

The governor also announced a partnership with UCLA and UCSF to begin training and redeploying existing government workers as contact tracers this week. 

There are fewer than 3,000 people in the entire state currently working on contact tracing, though Newsom said he hoped to add an additional 10,000 workers in the immediate future and 20,000 by the time the state reaches the third phase of his reopening plan. 

UCSF has already helped train 240 San Francisco city attorneys, assessors and librarians as contact tracers.

Testing, tracing and obtaining enough personal protective equipment are “foundational” to the state reopening, Newsom said. He said testing “continues to march in the right direction,” but acknowledged that there is still “a lot more work to do in the testing space.”