Gov. Gavin Newsom has eased the rules for when counties can reopen restaurants and stores, clearing the way for 53 of 58 California counties to qualify under the new coronavirus standards.
The move to relax the state requirements for reopening came after four Southern California counties pushed back against previous rules that Newsom announced two weeks ago.
But officials in Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Orange counties called the rules unrealistic and asked Newsom to meet “to identify strategies for achieving a safe, reasonable, and sustainable reopening of our economy in coordination with the state.”
Counties also must have fewer than 25 new coronavirus infections per 100,000 people in the past 14 days, compared with 10 in 100,000 under the standards set two weeks ago.
Lana Culp, a public information officer from San Bernardino County, said that the county “probably” doesn’t meet the new criteria to accelerate reopening, but Riverside County Board Chair V. Manuel Perez told the Desert Sun that he believes Riverside does.
