Planning for Regional Variations to California’s Stay-At-Home Orders
This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced statewide modifications to the COVID-19 Stay-At-Home order. Additionally, he provided the ability for counties to create regionally focused and more deeply modified Stay-At-Home orders based on local circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
California will be gradually moving into “Stage 2” of the Stay-at-Home order on Friday, May 8. At full implementation this Stage includes:
- Gradually open some lower-risk businesses and workplaces, adapted for social distancing
- Curbside pickup for retail businesses
- Reopen manufacturing businesses
- Office workers may return if telework is not possible
- Increase access to public spaces
County Health Officers, with the approval of their governing Board of Supervisors, can create plans that move more quickly through Stage 2, if certain prescriptive state guidelines are met. The State will have monitoring provisions over local plans, and the plans will have to include claw-back provisions should regions see a surge in COVID-19 cases and/or hospitalizations.
