Merced County prepares to reopen some businesses Friday, following governor’s decision
Merced County is preparing to reopen some businesses — under certain rules — as officials anticipate Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Thursday announcement specifying guidelines to move into Stage 2 of the state’s stay-at-home order on Friday.
A website called reopenmeredcounty.com launched Wednesday to support businesses in their transition to reopening. The site is a collaboration between Merced County and its six cities of Merced, Atwater, Los Banos, Livingston, Dos Palos and Gustine.
The county has reported 152 total confirmed coronavirus infections as Wednesday, according to County Public Health. Only 63 of those individuals remain ill, 86 have recovered and three have died.
The new site provides information, resources and guidelines for local businesses to prepare their reopening plan, said Merced County Public Information Officer Mike North.
“Merced County and its partner cities are focused on assisting the business community as we battle the impacts of COVID-19,” the website says. “We know that our business community has suffered greatly during this pandemic and we stand solidly with it as we prepare for economic recovery.”
Details about what businesses may reopen — and under which modifications — are expected to be outlined by the county after Newsom’s briefing on Thursday, officials say.
“Millions of Californians answered the call to stay home and thanks to them, we are in a position to begin moving into our next stage of modifying our stay at home order,” said Newsom in a news release. “But make no mistake – this virus isn’t gone. It’s still dangerous and poses a significant public health risk.”
“As we move into the next stage of reopening, we will do so with updated guidance to help qualifying businesses make modifications needed to lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure to customers and workers.”
While waiting for guidance from the state, local officials are getting a head start on preparation so Merced County businesses are ready to go, once given the green light. The new website includes a survey for business owners to outline their needs, North said.
Which businesses will reopen?
Examples of businesses that can reopen as early as Friday with modifications include bookstores, clothing stores, florists and sporting goods stores — all stores where curbside pickup is easily facilitated.
But other businesses like offices and dine-in restaurants will be part of a later Stage 2 opening, according to state officials. Churches, hair and nails salons, shopping malls, schools and movie theaters are also excluded from reopening.
The governor also said some counties can move more quickly through Stage 2 if they meet certain state readiness criteria. The opportunity addresses recent requests to Newsom by local officials for the governor to look at California regionally rather than applying a blanket policy. Counties must submit a readiness plan to the state.
Requirements for those counties include: proving a low prevalence of COVID-19, meeting testing and contact tracing criteria, showing the health care system is prepared for a sudden rise in cases and having a plan in place to protect vulnerable populations.
Several counties this week defied the statewide stay-at-home order, reopening in-demand businesses like restaurants, hair salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and shopping malls. Newsom called the move a “big mistake” that threatens the recently slowed rate of coronavirus deaths and infections.
Requests from Merced County residents and business owners to reopen the local economy have increased recently. Some have asked officials to defy the state as well.
Atwater Mayor Paul Creighton and Merced Mayor Mike Murphy each sent letters to the governor last week making the case for rural cities such as theirs to reopen the local economy. Both said the economic damage to their cities is not justified by the relatively low number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
Merced City Council public comment Monday was inundated with pleas by hair salon employees and owners urging the city to reopen salons. The comments cited preexisting industry sanitation standards that would be strengthened, allowing salons to operate safely during the pandemic.
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 1:07 PM.
