San Mateo County officials requested state permission to allow gyms, hotels for tourists, salons and museums to open and for restaurants to serve customers indoors.
If California approves the request, Scott Morrow, the county health officer, could issue a new shelter-in-place guidance that would accelerate the pace of San Mateo’s reopening.
Friday morning, county supervisors voted in favor of asking the state for a variance during a special meeting after Morrow told them that San Mateo has met readiness criteria to reopen these businesses.
Warren Slocum, president of the board of supervisors, wrote in a letter addressed to Gov. Gavin Newsom that the county has “worked tirelessly to build testing capacity, develop a detailed contact tracing program and staffing plan, and secure sufficient personal protective equipment to deal with any future COVID-19 surge.”
“Hospital surge capacity in the County remains strong overall, and the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has remained stable,” he said.
Supervisor Dave Pine said in an email that the county “is moving quickly” to reopen and “allow residents to return to work and resume their lives subject to proper health and safety protocols.”
“However, the easing of restrictions is by no means a declaration of safety,” he said. “The virus remains with us and new infections are happening every day. Each of us must act responsibly to protect ourselves, our families and our community.”
The state will consider the request this week.
— Kevin Stark (@starkkev)
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