Just in time for Memorial Day — a mainstay for local beach communities looking ahead to summertime sales receipts — Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the green light Saturday for Orange County restaurants and retail businesses to begin serving more customers, with limitations.
County officials requested Thursday a variance that would allow local businesses to accelerate into Phase 2 of the state’s Pandemic Resilience Roadmap, a plan that ties four phases of reopening to targets relating to coronavirus infection trends, testing and contact tracing.
Phase 2 permits in-person dining reservations and retail shopping with distancing and face mask protocols in place. Some personal service businesses may open, including car washes, pet groomers, tanning facilities, and landscape gardening services.
The second phase also allows for the opening of outdoor museums as well as some manufacturing businesses and offices, though teleworking is still recommended.
And in a new announcement Monday, Newsom announced barbershops and hair salons would be allowed to reopen in counties where variances have been approved, marking the beginning steps of a transition into Phase 3.