Gov. Gavin Newsom To Reopen Businesses In California And Set 'New Normal' Guidelines

Californian Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that the state will move into the next phase of reopening its businesses as they work to get the economy running again. At the news conference, he revealed more details about the officials’ plans for a grand opening that will take place before the week is over.

Newsom said that select retail stores will be allowed to open but they will still implement strict guidelines for the safety of everyone. Modifications to ease the stay-at-home order will also be announced as early as Friday.

These changes are said to still be part of the governor’s four-stage plan that he unveiled last week. It was made to ensure the smooth transition of the state to the way it was before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred.

“We are entering into the next phase this week,” the governor said at the news conference via the Los Angeles Times. “This is a very positive sign and it’s happened only for one reason: The data says it can happen.”

Based on the plan, the retail sectors that will be given a permit to operate again are clothing shops, bookstores, flower shops, sports houses selling sporting goods and manufacturing and logistics in the retail supply chain. These can resume business as long as they are willing to follow the state’s guidelines like requiring the staff to wear masks and to practice social distancing, KRON4 reported.

The rest of the requirements and new guidelines will be released this week. Still, the governor clarified that people should not think that everything will be back to normal since COVID-19 remains a big threat to everyone.

“We’re not going back to normal," Newsom said. "It’s a new normal with adaptations and modifications until we get to immunity and a vaccine.”

Finally, once the second phase starts and everything goes smoothly, Gov. Newson said that they will move further ahead and approve begin with the reopening process of more businesses like the restaurants and other hospitality facilities. It should be noted that the public official did not announce a statewide reopening of the mentioned establishments yet so rural counties must seek approval first before they can resume operations.