Retail Reopening on Friday Not Certain Says Health Officer

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Governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday new state guidance will allow many retail businesses to reopen Friday with curbside pickup. Across the state there has been a rush by businesses to prepare.

But Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase says before reopening can happen locally, she’ll need to write a new health order allowing that to happen.

The trouble is, the specific state guidelines that order will be based upon won’t be released by the governor’s office until Thursday. And that’s putting a squeeze on public health officials statewide to quickly turn around local orders to allow businesses to reopen on Friday. Locally Mase says there’s no guarantee that will happen.

The governor’s guidance announced Monday would allow a variety of retail business that can sell online and deliver curbside to get back in business. That would include most clothing, book, art, toy, sporting goods and other retailers but not offices, winery tasting rooms, gyms and sports outlets, salons, and businesses that take place in malls.

Mase says she fully intends to adapt the so called phase two guidelines to Sonoma County, but whether her staff can get the state’s rules adapted and written for Sonoma County by Friday, is still uncertain.