This will be SoCal’s first and largest county to reopen dine-in restaurants.
On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that 53 of 58 counties were approved to push ahead with an accelerated ‘Stage 2’ of the reopening plan. This includes Ventura, San Diego and Santa Barbara, along with other counties in this running list. Unfortunately, Los Angeles County—California’s epicenter of the pandemic—was not one of those counties.
Stage 2 permits restaurants to offer dine-in options and all in-store retail to customers if they have exterior facing entrances.
Ventra will begin their reopening from Thursday, May 21. However, only businesses that have applied and met certain criteria will be allowed to welcome customers into their premises.
Dining-in will be a bit different, with guidelines requiring masks to be worn by all employees at all times and by customers when not seated. Additionally, shared items will be removed from tables unless requested and seating will be arranged at least 6 feet apart. More details can be found here.
The #CountyofVentura is the first and largest Southern #California County to be approved for accelerated reopening from the State! Restaurants will be able to offer modified dine-in options for customers. https://t.co/2wTLUlX45b https://t.co/0Wd0xuUfhf More details to come!
— Ventura County (@CountyVentura) May 20, 2020
“A long way to go, but this is a major milestone. The attestation reflects a validation of our collective community and County efforts to protect our community’s health and to support our local businesses. COVID-19 has had devastating impacts on both community health and our economy. We want businesses to be able to reopen and we believe they can and will do so safely,” said Ventura County CEO Mike Powers in a statement.
“We want our community to reopen safely. Community members and businesses must continue to practice social distancing to lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure. This will help keep our numbers low so we can continue to move forward in reopening businesses throughout our County,” said the Public Health Officer, Doctor Robert Levin.
Meanwhile, L.A. County has put forward its own target date for reopening restaurants and malls—beyond curbside pickup—for July 4.
For further details reopening see: Newsom Sets Guidelines For Reopening California Restaurants, Malls, And Offices
Featured Image: Visit Ventura