County to make pitch to governor for accelerated reopening

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Riverside County officials have cleared the way for an accelerated reopening of local business. Now it’s up to the governor.

The County Board of Supervisors today formally adopted a document first introduced last week in connection with the removal of County restrictions regarding the coronavirus.

The Readiness and Reopening Framework spells out recommendations to be followed in allowing the re-opening of businesses and public facilities. According to this document, the use of facial coverings and social distancing are no longer required but are still recommended in order to allow businesses to safely begin reopening.

“We would recommend to the state that we are ready to move to the next stage,” said Juan Perez, chairman of the Economic Recovery Task Force. “We ask to open retail and dine-in restaurants, religious services, personal grooming services and hospitality wineries. Those would be predicated on very robust guidance.”

This does not mean that those businesses will begin reopening immediately, however. The document approved today will be sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration, along with other arguments for a regional variance from the state’s stricter guidelines.

Newsom said in a news conference today that he is approving a faster reopening process on a county-by-county basis. As of tonight, Newsom has determined that only seven counties – all smaller counties in Northern California – have met the state criteria for accelerated reopening.

None of the more populated counties in Southern California have met all the criteria, which include having no deaths from COVID-19 in a two-week period and having no more than one confirmed case per 10,000 residents. Riverside County officials made it clear once again today that such an expectation is unrealistic in this county and others surrounding it.

“We think that’s not realistic criteria for a large urban county,” Kim Saruwatari, public health officer, told County Supervisors. “We recommend that the criteria be a downward influence of COVID-19 over a 14-day period.”

Newsom announced today modifications to state guidelines for offices to open where telework is not possible; for malls and strip malls to open for pick-up only; and for car washes and pet grooming to re-open. Beyond that, counties seeking to reopen dine-in restaurants, churches and hospitality services must either meet all state criteria or receive a regional variance.

“This affords the opportunity for local governments to conform with those guidelines,” Newsom said. “Those trying to get variances should know that this statewide order applies to them even if they’re in the process of applying for a regional variance.”

That’s why Riverside County is joining a coalition with surrounding counties to make their case to the governor for accelerated reopening.

“We want an audience with the governor,” said V. Manuel Perez, chair of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. “We’re not demanding it, but we want a conversation. The goal behind the region is to work together in moving our agenda forward.

“We have a lot of people within our business community saying they are willing to require facial coverings if that’s what it takes to reopen. They know we have to protect ourselves and the consumer.”