Coronavirus updates: Newsom, California health officials share reopening guidelines
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California health officials on Monday released guidelines for places of worship to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, while “strongly” recommending that churches continue to hold services remotely.
The state in the morning shared a 13-page document that contains rules, regulations and recommendations that places of worship should abide by once they are cleared by their counties’ health departments to resume in-person services.
For at least the first 21 days after each county revises its public health order to allow church activity to resume, the state is requiring that places of worship “limit attendance to 25 percent of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower.” After those three weeks, the state and county public health departments will consult and review the effect of this limit and reassess.
Aside from the occupancy limit and several sanitation rules, the document largely lacks strict requirements and instead includes dozens of strong recommendations for church staff and congregants.
State health officials are asking places of worship to “strongly consider discontinuing singing, group recitation, and other practices and performances where there is increased likelihood for transmission from contaminated exhaled droplets,” and are asking churches to modify practices in other ways that ensure at least six feet of physical distance between people.
The document also suggests “modifying practices that are specific to particular faith traditions that might encourage the spread of COVID-19.
“Examples are discontinuing kissing of ritual objects, allowing rites to be performed by fewer people, avoiding the use of a common cup, offering communion in the hand instead of on the tongue, providing pre-packed communion items on chairs prior to service, etc.”
Similar modifications are suggested for funerals.
The state guidelines require places of worship to establish written, “workspace-specific” plans that include the investigation and contact tracing of any confirmed case. Church staff also should be screened for a fever, either at the beginning of one’s shift or at home, and churches should encourage staff as well as congregants who are sick to remain home. Congregants also should be “screened for temperature and/or symptoms upon arrival to places of worship and asked to use hand sanitizer and to wear face coverings.”
Places of worship also “should consider where disposable gloves may be used” to further suppress potential spread of the virus, the document says.
The state is asking churches to establish frequent disinfection protocols; to discourage the use of shared items during worship and services whenever possible and to provide “single-use or digital copies” or have guests bring their own personal prayer materials when possible.
The state also recommends using disposable seat covers for congregant, and asks places of worship to discontinue passing collection plates “and similar items that move between people,” instead using alternatives “such as secure drop boxes that do not require opening/closing,” or digital options for “touch-free offerings.”
Guidelines also include holding in-person services outside or on drive-through or internet livestreamed bases whenever possible. To increase physical distancing, the state recommends places of worship discontinue large gatherings, and instead offer more frequent meetings that may bring smaller groups together.
Newsom’s office has faced protests and lawsuits regarding the stay-at-home order that’s been in place since March 19. Churches have been pointed to as centers of large outbreaks in multiple parts of the state, but critics claim that restricting in-person religious services and closing places of worship represent a violation of First Amendment rights.
The federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals backed Newsom’s order Friday, with the governor promising late last week that guidelines would be coming soon for the gradual reopening of places of worship.
Retail stores can now open statewide
The California Department of Public Health also announced Monday that retail stores statewide can now open for in-store shopping as long as they follow state guidelines to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection for workers and customers.
These existing COVID-19 California guidelines for retailers were previously allowed for counties that were approved by the state to advance in the reopening process. But now those guidelines apply to retailers throughout the state.
Key prevention practices include:
- Physical distancing to the maximum extent possible.
- Use of face coverings by employees, customers and clients where respiratory protect is not required.
- Frequent hand washing and regular cleaning and disinfection.
- Training employees on these and other elements of the COVID-19 prevention plan.
State health officials said retail does not include personal services such as hair salons, nail salons and barbershops. Haircuts, manicures and other services performed in close quarters remain prohibited for the time being under Newsom’s phased approach to resuming economic activities.
La Donna Christensen, a Roseville cosmetologist and hair stylist, offered haircuts during the largest protest rally against Newsom’s coronavirus restrictions so far at the state Capitol Saturday. She said she wanted to show her services are not hazardous.
Reopening process, hot weather test social distancing mandate
Social distancing protocols intended to curb the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus have been challenged in the Sacramento area by a flurry of business openings, hot weather and a roughly 2,000-person protest outside the state Capitol building.
Last Friday, Sacramento officially joined the growing list of counties permitted to move further along in Newsom’s Phase 2 of economic reopening, which allows for the reopening of dine-in restaurants and in-store retail shopping, with a number of modifications.
By Friday evening, a number of midtown Sacramento restaurants had their patios packed with customers for the first time in more than two months, but not all state-issued rules were being strictly followed.
Then Saturday, a rally at the Capitol brought hundreds of demonstrators, critical of Newsom’s stay-at-home order and calling for an end to it, within close proximity. Those protesting included local business owners, as well as those concerned that places of worship remain closed under the statewide order.
One day later, summer-like weather in the Sacramento area brought rafters to the American River in droves. Images showed that, as Sunday afternoon temperatures hit about 94 degrees near the capital, social distancing measures weren’t being followed very closely, and almost no masks could be seen. The trend might continue on Memorial Day, as Monday afternoon will approach 100 degrees.
While hospitalization rates have declined modestly in recent days, which is part of what has led the state to approve accelerated reopening plans for 47 of California’s 58 counties, the coronavirus continues to kill Californians.
Almost 93,000 people have been infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, as of a Sunday update by the state Department of Public Health. Of those, at least 3,774 have died, the state says.
The U.S. death toll is creeping toward 100,000, according to data maintained by Johns Hopkins University and will likely arrive there early this week, with no other nation reporting more than 37,000 dead.
Some malls open, Arden Fair in Sacramento remains closed
The Westfield Galleria in Roseville reopened Friday and the Folsom Premium Outlets, an outdoor mall, resumed business Saturday.
The Roseville mall had guests pouring in the front entrance at opening, many but not all of them wearing masks.
Meanwhile in Sacramento, numerous retailers at Arden Fair mall are offering curbside pickup, but the mall will not announce reopening for the inside of the mall until after Memorial Day, mall officials said.
What will the next school year look like in California?
Both public and private schools in the Sacramento region are preparing for the 2020-21 academic year, still with a great deal of uncertainty about how the pandemic will be impacting school campuses by August, when most K-12 academic calendars would typically begin.
The Sacramento County Office of Education said it will release guidelines for reopening next Monday, June 1.
“It will serve to give parents an idea of what schools will look like,” SCOE Superintendent David Gordon said. “It will look different than what schools looked like in March.”
Nothing is formal yet, but as Newsom and state schools chief Tony Thurmond have previously explained, changes once campuses reopen could include recommending masks, canceling recess and physical education, staggering class schedules or limiting how many students are in one classroom at a time.
There is also a strong possibility that online, or distance, learning will remain in at least some capacity.
“Common sense tells us that there will be a need to work on, improve and perfect distance learning,” Gordon said. “There could be a resurgence of the disease, and schools will have to shut down in a day or two notice. We would certainly want to be prepared.”
In the meantime, the class of 2020 has been resigned to either virtual ceremonies or unsanctioned celebrations.
Latest Sacramento-area numbers: nearly 90 dead, over 1,760 infected
As of Monday afternoon, Sacramento County health officials reported 1,302 infections — up by nine from Sunday’s update — and 56 deaths. The county’s last reported death came May 18. The Sacramento four-county region had a total of 1,763 COVID-19 cases and 87 deaths Monday.
Yolo County reported four new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday; the county has a total of 198 cases and 22 deaths related to the virus. Of those deaths, 15 have been connected to the Stollwood Convalescent Hospital in Woodland.
Placer County reported one new confirmed COVID-19 case on Monday; the county has a total 185 cases and nine deaths. The county’s first death in more than a month was reported Friday, the same day the county reported eight new COVID-19 cases. Friday’s new cases was the biggest spike since May 2, when the county reported nine new cases, according to county data.
El Dorado County reported four new confirmed COVID-19 cases Monday; the county has a total of 78 cases and no deaths related to the virus. The county reported seven new cases on Friday, which were all from household contacts with an earlier positive case.
Yuba and Sutter counties have reported no change in cases in about a week. Sutter reported 40 cases as of Sunday. Two people in the county have died of COVID-19. Yuba has reported 28 cases and one death.
World numbers: Nearly 5.5 million infected, 350,000 dead
According to Johns Hopkins, the global death toll for COVID-19 are approaching 345,000 among more than 5.49 million lab-confirmed cases. Of those, over 1.66 million cases and slightly more than 98,000 fatalities have come in the United States.
The death rate has slowed significantly in New York state after an outbreak last month, but more than 29,000 have died there, followed by over 11,000 in New Jersey and almost 6,400 in Massachusetts, according to Johns Hopkins. Pennsylvania and Michigan have each surpassed 5,000 COVID-19 fatalities, and Illinois is approaching 4,900.
Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Louisiana, Connecticut and California each have suffered roughly 2,000 to 4,000 coronavirus deaths as of Monday afternoon, the Johns Hopkins data map shows. Between 1,000 and 2,000 have died in Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Virginia and Washington state.
After the U.S., four European nations have reported a combined total of about 125,000 dead: the United Kingdom at close to 37,000, Italy at almost 33,000, France at over 28,000 and Spain at nearly 27,000. The death rate is rapidly rising in Brazil, where more than 22,500 have died.
Another 9,300 have died in Belgium, 8,300 in Germany, 7,450 in Iran, 7,400 in Mexico, 6,500 in Canada and 5,900 in the Netherlands, according to Johns Hopkins. China, the original epicenter of the virus at the start of 2020, reports just over 4,600 dead.
What is COVID-19? How is the coronavirus spread?
Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The CDC says it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
This story was originally published May 25, 2020 at 8:55 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: Newsom, California health officials share reopening guidelines."
