Stanislaus County asking the state to allow retail centers, malls, restaurants to open
Stanislaus County leaders on Tuesday authorized a second application for a variance to the state’s shelter-in-place order, which would allow dine-in restaurants and shopping centers to open.
County supervisors and staff said they expected a decision within 48 to 72 hours, or even earlier, from the California Department of Public Health on whether the county application meets the requirements for moving faster through the Stage 2 reopening process.
Thousands of businesses across the state have been shut down for two months in compliance with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-home order intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 illness.
The county’s application, if approved, would allow shopping meccas such as Vintage Faire Mall to open doors to customers. Commercial shopping centers, strip and outlet malls are included under the Stage 2 category.
Restaurants and retail businesses will have to comply with extensive physical distancing and safety requirements outlined by the state. Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, county health officer, and other top county officials are recommending that shoppers wear masks, clean their hands often and not touch their nose and mouth.
Jody Hayes, county chief executive officer, said it’s important to understand what is allowed and what isn’t allowed in the proposed variance.
It would allow partial dining services in restaurants with tables arranged so customers are at least 6 feet from other diners and employees. Shopping centers and their individual retail stores could reopen with safety precautions.
The variance would not allow bars, spas, fitness centers, tattoo shops or salons. Those would remain closed even if they’re in reopened shopping centers.
Also in the later phases of the state’s reopening plans are entertainment venues, movie theaters, arcades, museums, community centers, playgrounds, religious services and concerts. Some of those operations may be weeks or months away from reopening.
Vaishampayan said restaurants and retail centers have many guidelines that must be met before opening. She said transmission of the contagious disease in malls can be prevented if steps are taken to ensure social distancing.
Thomas Tyler, a Modesto senior, said he finds it disturbing that customers in stores are not wearing masks. “They don’t exhibit any responsibility,” he said via a telephone feed into Tuesday’s board meeting.
Another caller told supervisors it’s common to see groups of four or five people including children walking close together in stores and not covering their faces.
State rejected the county’s first application
The county’s first variance application submitted to the state Friday was rejected because of stringent state requirements for showing the coronavirus outbreak in Stanislaus County has been stabilized. Vaishampayan told supervisors the county meets the more lenient requirements that were issued by Newsom’s administration Monday.
She said the county meets a requirement showing that hospitalized COVID-19 patients are not on the increase. No more than a 5 percent increase is allowed as a 7-day average; the county has been at 2.79 percent.
In addition, the county has averaged 3.4 percent positive tests for coronavirus in the past seven days, Vaishampayan said. The state draws the line at no more than 8 percent positive tests.
Under previous criteria, the state required counties to have zero deaths and a limited number of new cases over a two week period to be eligible for a variance to move more quickly through the Stage 2 reopening process. Medium-size to large counties complained it was impossible to meet the criteria.
State officials will also decide if the county meets additional criteria for preventing a resurgence of coronavirus illness, including test capacity, contact tracing, hospital surge capacity and efforts to protect vulnerable populations such as seniors and people with chronic health conditions.
Supervisor Vito Chiesa said he’s glad the county is slowly moving forward with reopening the economy. He sympathized with people who are unemployed and dealing with pressures at home.
“We are allowing this, but businesses still have to be careful and maintain social distancing,” Chiesa said.
Kristin Olsen, board of supervisors chairwoman, said she believes the state’s decision on the variance application could be made sometime Wednesday.
Modesto mall experience will change
According to the state’s guidance for shopping centers or malls, stores are expected to maintain 6 feet distance between customers by using floor markers, colored tape or signs. Malls may prevent face-to-face contact between people by requiring one-direction foot traffic.
To manage the number of people shopping at one time, malls or shopping centers can impose occupancy limits or restrict the amount of parking. “Capacity limits should be low enough to ensure physical distancing but in no case more than 50 percent maximum occupancy,” the state’s guidebook says.
The state also emphasizes training for employees and temperature and symptom-checking before workers begin their shifts.
A family visit to the mall won’t likely be the same experience as long as COVID-19 remains a public health threat in the next two years. The state guidance includes measures like closing children’s play areas and shutting features like carousels and rides.
The cleaning and disinfecting protocols focus on high traffic areas, restrooms, employee break rooms, benches and counters.
Customers patronizing their favorite waffle shop or diner are likely to see waiters with face coverings or plexiglas separators between the booths, Vaishampayan said.
The state suggests that shopping centers ask their retail tenants to provide special hours for seniors or people with medical conditions so they can purchase items without being exposed to folks who may be carrying the virus.
This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 8:42 PM.
