A surge of counties across California are relaunching restaurants as part of what Governor Gavin Newsom has called an “early” reopening. A handful of L.A.’s neighboring counties and favorite road trip destinations gained early approval to begin offering dine-in service, including the bordering Ventura County and, on May 29, Los Angeles County joined their ranks.
In order to move further into California’s phase two of reopening before a larger statewide initiative occurs, counties must provide current data on infection rates and hospitalization figures, as well as provide thorough plans to slow and eliminate the spread, and should they meet these benchmarks, can reopen restaurants and retail—provided the businesses follow the state’s ample new guidelines.
As of May 21, Ventura, San Diego, Kern and Santa Barbara Counties can all allow dine-in service. Farther north, the state’s capital, Sacramento, is also cleared to reopen under guidance, as are Napa, San Louis Obispo and Mendocino. On May 22, Riverside County also gained approval, moving into what their officials are calling “phase 2.5.”
On May 23, Orange County and San Bernardino were approved for reopening under the state’s variance. Nearly all of California’s counties are now cleared to reopen under guidance, most recently including Los Angeles County. A running list of approved counties can be found here.
San Diego especially took the governor’s dine-in guidance to heart, outlining a handful of additional regulations for its county’s restaurants—including mandatory face masks for diners when not seated at their tables, which was a recommendation, not a hard rule, in Gov. Newsom’s statewide guidance.
L.A. County officials revealed a timeline for its own reopening, setting a goal of July 4 for a full return to retail and restaurant operations, but sought the early-reopening variance after all, applying for it on May 27.
Gov. Newsom has shared that eventually California will push for a statewide reopening, which would presumably entail all counties relaunching retail and recreational activities, including dine-in seating at restaurants, though it is unclear when that statewide push will occur.
Editor’s note: Riverside County gained approval to move deeper into phase two on May 22, while on May 23 Orange County and San Bernardino County joined the approved list; on May 29, L.A. County gained approval, as well. This story has been updated with this information. This piece originally ran on May 21.
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