Stanislaus County will send second application to state to end shutdown of businesses
Stanislaus County will take a second shot at getting a variance to the state’s stay-at-home order, so that more businesses can reopen under safety guidelines.
The county was notified Monday that its first application to the state was rejected. The county submitted the application on Friday.
To no one’s surprise, the county did not meet two basic requirements of zero deaths and no more than 56 new cases over a 14-day period.
Gov. Gavin Newsom smoothed the way for Stanislaus and other counties Monday by eliminating the two criteria that were a stumbling block. Now that they don’t have go two weeks without a coronavirus death, the governor’s office expects the vast majority of counties can meet the requirements for reopening under Stage 2 ground rules.
The county Board of Supervisors is expected to approve a new variance application Tuesday evening and will send that one to the state. If it’s approved, the county could within a week move forward with opening restaurants, shopping centers and other businesses, a county spokeswoman said.
The local businesses will have to practice social distancing and follow safety precautions to protect customers and employees. .
Hair salons and religious services would not open under the relaxed rules but could be a few weeks from opening.
Under the new criteria, Newsom wants to see stable hospitalization numbers and is giving counties the option of using testing results to show low rates of infection.
“We are optimistic that this time the state will grant the local variance,” said Kristin Olsen, board of supervisors chairwoman.
To meet one of the new state requirements, Olsen said, the county can show a daily change in hospitalizations is not more than 5 percent. COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county are flat at around 1.24 percent daily fluctuations.
The state is also setting the bar at less than 8 percent positive tests for coronavirus as a measure of low infection rates. In Stanislaus County, the testing rate is currently 6.1 percent positive.
Olsen said state officials did not comment on other parts of the first application regarding testing capacity, contact tracing, hospital surge capacity and protection of vulnerable populations. The first application was rejected over the zero death rule that no longer exists.
She said the county is making a strong case that those other criteria are met.
“We felt we clearly met all the criteria and in some cases to a much greater degree than the smaller counties that were approved,” Olsen said.
Stanislaus County continues to see rising coronavirus numbers. Two more deaths and 16 new cases were reported Monday. Since May 1, the total caseload has risen from 432 to 587, or about 16 cases per day. County health officials have said many of the infections are tied to clusters like the outbreak at Turlock Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
The Board of Supervisors meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Tenth Street Place in Modesto. The meeting is closed to the public due to the coronavirus outbreak. Those wishing to make comments via telephone may call the board clerk in advance of the meeting for instructions. Call (209) 525-4494.
