Amid a continued surge in California’s COVID-19 cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the state is rolling back many of its reopening measures.
Some changes — including the closure of indoor operations for restaurants, movie theaters, zoos and museums, along with all operations for bars — went into effect immediately across the entire state.
But others apply only to the 32 counties on the governor’s growing “watch list” for troubling coronavirus trends. Counties that have been on the list for three consecutive days must also close all indoor operations at gyms, hair and nail salons, places of worship, indoor malls and non-essential offices.
Seven of the nine Bay Area counties are currently on the governor’s watch list. For Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties, the order went into effect on Monday.
Alameda and Santa Clara counties, which were added to the list on Sunday, won’t be required to abide by the new restrictions until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the third consecutive day they’ll be on the list.
Confused by our patchwork pandemic? You’re not alone. Here’s a list of what’s open and what’s closed — as well as what’s soon to close — in each Bay Area county.
Alameda County
Technically, the new watch list restrictions don’t apply to Alameda County until Wednesday. But because Alameda was yet to reopen affected businesses, residents and businesses shouldn’t see a change. Indoor dining, bars, wineries, movie theaters, zoos and museums will all remain closed in the county.
Additionally, because Alameda is not a variance county, outdoor dining and zoo operations are also shuttered — bad news for the Oakland Zoo, which is teetering on the edge of survival. County officials are continuing to move towards gaining a variance approval, but caution that “approval of a variance is not an indication that we will pursue additional reopenings of other industries or sectors at this time.”
Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County was one of the seven Bay Area counties to have been on the watch list for three consecutive days, so the additional restrictions went into effect immediately. For some sectors, that meant no change: Indoor dining, bars, wineries, movie theaters and family entertainment centers were still closed, and will remain closed.
On the other hand, “non-essential” offices, indoor malls, hair salons and barber shops had previously been permitted. They had to close Monday unless their operations could be moved outside.
Marin County
Because Marin County is on the watch list, non-essential offices, indoor malls, hair salons and barber shops had to close Monday under the new order. Non-essential workers had been allowed to go into their offices since June 1, and hair salons and barber shops had been open since June 29.
Otherwise, the new health order shouldn’t make much of a difference. The county had shuttered indoor dining at the beginning of July as cases surged. Gyms, hotels, vacation rentals, nail salons and massage parlors had been scheduled to open when hair salons did, but the county had already postponed that reopening.
Napa County
Napa County has been on the watch list since July 7, so it had to close hair salons, nail salons, gyms, places of worship, non-essential offices and indoor malls starting Monday. Indoor dining, wineries, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums had already closed on July 9.
The county’s announcement notes that the reopening timeline is the state’s decision, but the county estimates that the order will last “a minimum of three weeks.”
San Francisco County
San Francisco County is one of two Bay Area counties not on the governor’s watch list. Technically, that means that the additional watch list restrictions don’t apply, but the slow pace of reopening in San Francisco means that businesses affected by watch list restrictions aren’t open anyway. Hair salons and personal care services are still closed, as are indoor dining, bars, indoor museums and aquariums and outdoor swimming pools.
Notably open: the San Francisco Zoo, which opened yesterday for the first time in months. Zoo officials are remaining open despite the governor’s order because it affects indoor zoo operations, not outdoor operations.
San Mateo County
San Mateo County is the other Bay Area county that hasn’t made the watch list. Indoor dining, wineries, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums had to close Monday, but gyms, salons and places of worship can all stay open for now.
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, along with Alameda County, was added to the governor’s watch list on Sunday. That means that the statewide closures — indoor dining, bars, movie theaters, zoos and museums — went into effect on Monday, but that the watch list closures won’t apply until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, when indoor worship services, non-essential offices and indoor malls will need to close.
That’s especially bad news for salons and gyms, which will have to close on Wednesday just 48 hours after reopening on Monday.
Solano County
Solano County, one of the counties on the watch list, had to close places of worship, indoor malls, gyms, personal care services, hair salons and barbershops on Monday. Otherwise, residents and businesses won’t experience a change: Dine-in restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, family entertainment centers, movie theatres, zoos, museums and cardrooms had been closed since July 2.
Sonoma County
Sonoma County, also on the watch list, had already shut down bars, restaurants, tasting rooms, movie theaters, entertainment centers and museums on Monday morning, before the governor’s latest order. As one of the counties on the watch list, they will also have to shutter gyms, houses of worship, non-critical offices, hair salons and indoor malls.
