California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new, color-coded reopening process Friday that is more gradual than the original plan, which led to a second …
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new, color-coded reopening process Friday that is more gradual than the original plan, which led to a second round of shutdowns two months ago. Counties will move through the four-phase system based on their number of new coronavirus cases and percentage of positive tests. Newsom said the new system will be simple, but more gradual than the old one. It gives the state more power, instead of counties. In May, Newsom handed more power to counties after local authorities complained the original requirements were too strict. The change comes nearly two months after Newsom shut down bars, indoor dining at restaurants and other businesses for a second time following a surge in COVID-19 cases. “We’re going to be more stubborn this time and have a mandatory wait time between moves. We didn’t do that last time,” the governor said. Newsom did say under the new process, counties must meet and maintain certain metrics for three weeks before they can reopen certain businesses. He didn’t say which businesses will be included in which tier or what the reopening will look like.
