CALIFORNIA — The L.A. County Board of Supervisors plans to petition the State to advance reopenings for closed businesses. The vote passed on Tuesday, May 26, and is to be submitted to the state on Wednesday, May 27.
As of Tuesday, all but 11 of California’s 58 counties received “regional variances.” These variances allow the counties to further advance in the state’s recovery roadmap. The plan consists of four stages of phased reopening.
On Tuesday, California’s Gov. Newsom gave the green light for 47 counties to proceed to Stage 3. This authorizes the reopening of barbershops and salons. Governor Newsom also previously allowed in-person services to resume in places of worship.
Katherine Barger and Janice Hahn headed the proposed motion presented to the Board. The passed motion further loosens L.A. County’s lockdown precautions. It adds that in-person retail shopping may resume under safe distancing guidelines. Markets, swap meets, and drive-in theaters may also resume operations. These actions were confirmed later that day in a press release from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. However, he added that businesses should not feel pressured to reopen.
Barger mentioned in a post-meeting statement that in-person dining at restaurants and personal services such as salons would have to wait for state approval in order to move ahead. It is these specific services which the Board of Supervisors approved the state appeal for.
Governor Gavin Newsom stated that counties that do not meet the criteria needed to receive the variances will not be approved. These criteria, outlined in his original “roadmap” plan, include continued flattening of case counts, having under a certain number of hospitalizations, and increasing access to COVID-19 testing.
After the opening of the Dodgers Stadium testing facility on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors claims in their appeal that they meet the required criteria.
