More Businesses Permitted to Reopen in County of Ventura

VENTURA, Calif. – The County of Ventura announces that more businesses are permitted to reopen on the State’s Roadmap to reopening. Governor Newsom announced modifications to the State-wide stay-at-home order today. The State has added more businesses to Early Stage 2. The Governor announced that Counties, under the guidance of the Public Health Officer, can move forward in reopening office-based businesses, car washes, pet groomers, outdoor museums and other public spaces.

“Our community has worked so hard to social distance and to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our County. As we move further into Stage 2, we must do so with caution. We must continue to practice social distancing and businesses must make modifications needed to lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure. This will help keep our numbers low so we can continue to move forward,” said Public Health Officer Doctor Robert Levin.

“This is another big step on our path to reopening. We can only do this through the guidance of our Public Health Officer. We are positioned to move forward because our businesses and residents have sacrificed so much to comply with the local order,” said Mike Powers, County Executive Officer. “We trust our business community. We know they are working so hard to meet the guidelines. We want them to be able to reopen safely and we know they will do a great job.”

Stage 2: California is now open with modifications.

Early Stage 2, Part 1 in effect May 8, 2020

• Curb-side Retail – May 8, 2020
• Manufacturers – May 8, 2020
• Logistics – May 8, 2020

Early Stage 2, expanded in effect May 13, 2020

• Childcare for those outside of the essential workforce
• Office-based businesses (telework remains strongly encouraged)
• Select services such as car washes, pet grooming and landscape gardening
• Outdoor museums, and open gallery spaces and other public spaces with modifications

Important steps for business to reopen:

Before reopening, all facilities must confirm the following at www.vcreopens.com

1. Begin by reviewing the guidance published by the State of California at https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap/.
2. Upon reviewing the guidance, complete a detailed risk assessment of your business in accordance with the state guidelines.
3. Complete a written worksite-specific COVID-19 Prevention Plan and post it at your business.
4. Implement the prevention measures identified in your worksite-specific COVID-19 Prevention Plan.
5. Designate an on-duty employee responsible for monitoring compliance with your plan.
6. Complete the attestation form at www.vcemergency.com/business-attestation.

Businesses can reopen after they meet each of the steps. They do not need a formal inspection before they open as long as they have followed the guidelines. A site visit may be conducted at a future date.

Businesses that are already open under the previous order must also complete the steps to reopening:

• If you are a business that is already permitted to be open and in operation you are asked to review these requirements and confirm that you have met these requirements by registering your business.
• Each business is free to write their own worksite-specific COVID-19 Prevention Plan that complies with the state guidance. The state provided companion checklist for each industry guidance document can be used to create your Prevention Plan. Below are sample templates that will satisfy the Prevention Plan requirement.

The Governor announced today that counties can work towards an accelerated path to reopening. While the criteria are high and intended primarily for small rural counties, we are working diligently toward achieving approval. Dine-in restaurants and shopping centers may be opened in counties that have received state approval for the accelerated path. The County has made progress in meeting the Governor’s requirements for moving forward. These steps have included: hospital surge and personal protective equipment capacity; protection of high-risk patient populations: seniors, long term care facility residents, homeless and most recently expanded efforts in contact tracing capacity and testing. The efforts to protect our community health and our local economy are aligned. Investing in these public health steps will benefit the health of our community as well as our local economy.

The following sectors, businesses, establishments, or activities are not permitted to operate in the State of California at this time:

• Personal services such as hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and fitness studios
• Hospitality services, such as bars, wineries, tasting rooms and lounges
• Entertainment venues, such as movie theaters, gaming facilities, pro sports indoor museums, kids’    museums and gallery spaces, zoos, and libraries
• Community centers, public pools, playgrounds, and picnic areas
• Religious services and cultural ceremonies
• Nightclubs
• Concert venues
• Live audience sports
• Festivals
• Theme parks
• Hotels/lodging for leisure and tourism

www.vcemergency.com

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