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EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Governor

State of Californiaā€”Health and Human Services Agency
California Department of Public Health


July 13, 2020


TO:
All Californians

SUBJECT:
Guidance on Closure of Sectors in Response to COVID-19

This Guidance is no longer in effect and is for historical purposes only.



Guidance on Closure of Sectors in Response to COVID-19

 July 13, 2020

 

Summary

COVID-19 transmission rates continue to rise across the state, including increasing numbers of cases in rural counties that had not previously experienced significant infection rates. Despite the closure of certain indoor sectors in counties on the County Monitoring list, those counties continue to demonstrate concerning levels of disease transmission that impact not only the general population but vulnerable populations in the community. 

This guidance and the Statewide Public Health Officer Order, dated July 13, 2020:

  • Closes, on a statewide basis, indoor operations for certain sectors, and both indoor and outdoor operations for bars and similar establishments, consistent with the June 28 and July 1 restrictions on counties on the County Monitoring List.
  • Closes, for counties on the County Monitoring List for three or more consecutive days, indoor operations for additional sectors which promote the mixing of populations beyond households and make adherence to physical distancing with face coverings difficult. Within these sectors, and in the affected counties, those specified businesses that are not able to continue their business through outdoor operations must close that portion of their business effective immediately in order to further mitigate the spread of the virus.

 

Background

As part of the State's efforts to address COVID-19, the State monitors county specific data to determine whether and how to modify the pace of reopening.  Additionally, the State provides technical assistance, support and interventions to counties that have concerning levels of disease transmission, hospitalizations, or insufficient testing. Counties on the County Monitoring List are under active monitoring by the State, and may receive targeted engagement and technical support from CDPH and other agencies and departments including the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the Department of Industrial Relations and the California Department of Food and Agriculture. 

As of July 13, there are 29 counties that have been on the County Monitoring List for three consecutive days:

  • Colusa
  • Contra Costa
  • Fresno
  • Glenn
  • Imperial
  • Kings
  • Los Angeles
  • Madera
  • Marin
  • Merced
  • Monterey
  • Napa
  • Orange
  • Placer
  • Riverside
  • Sacramento
  • San Benito
  • San Bernardino
  • San Diego
  • San Joaquin
  • Santa Barbara
  • Solano
  • Sonoma
  • Stanislaus
  • Sutter
  • Tulare
  • Ventura
  • Yolo
  • Yuba


Actions Taking Effect Immediately

Given current rates of disease transmission and the increase in hospitalization and ICU utilization, CDPH is:

  • Closing, on a statewide basis, consistent with the June 28 and July 1 restrictions on counties on the County Monitoring List, the following sectors:
    • Dine-in Restaurants (indoor)
    • Wineries and Tasting Rooms (indoor)
    • Movie Theater (indoor)
    • Family Entertainment Centers (indoor)
    • Zoos and Museums (indoor)
    • Cardrooms (indoor)
    • Brewpubs, breweries, bars, and pubs (indoor and outdoor), unless an exception below applies:
      1. Bars, pubs, brewpubs, and breweries, may operate outdoors if they are offering sit-down, outdoor, dine-in meals. Alcohol can be sold only in the same transaction as a meal. When operating outdoors, they must follow the dine-in restaurant guidance and should continue to encourage takeout and delivery service whenever possible.
      2. Bars, pubs, brewpubs, and breweries that do not provide sit-down meals themselves, but can contract with another vendor to do so, can serve dine-in meals when operating outdoors provided both businesses follow the dine-in restaurant guidance and alcohol is sold only in the same transaction as a meal.
      3. Venues that are currently authorized to provide off sale beer, wine, and spirits to be consumed off premises and do not offer sit-down, dine-in meals must follow the guidance for retail operations and offer curbside sales only.
      4. Concert, performance, or entertainment venues must remain closed until they are allowed to resume modified or full operation through a specific reopening order or guidance. Establishments that serve full meals must discontinue this type of entertainment until these types of activities are allowed to resume modified or full operation.
         
  • Closing, for counties on the Monitoring List for three or more consecutive days, additional indoor operations for certain sectors which promote the mixing of populations beyond households and make adherence to physical distancing with face coverings difficult. Within those sectors, those that are not able to continue their business through outdoor operations must close that portion of their business effective immediately in order to further mitigate the spread of the virus.  This applies to the following sectors/events:
    • Gyms and Fitness Centers
    • Places of Worship
    • Indoor Protests
    • Offices for Non-Critical Infrastructure Sectors
    • Personal Care Services (including nail salons, massage parlors, and tattoo parlors)
    • Hair Salons and Barbershops
    • Malls

These actions remain in effect until further notice.

All industry or sector guidance documents that have been issued to date, including all infectious control measures outlined in those guidance documents, including the use of face coverings, which is mandated statewide apply in outdoor settings, and thus must be adhered to. Outdoor operations may be conducted under a tent, canopy, or other sun shelter, but only as long as no more than one side is closed, allowing sufficient outdoor air movement. 


Justification

The data is clear that community spread of infection is of increasing concern across the state, and continues to grow in those counties on the County Monitoring List. The number of hospitalized patients with COVID has increased between 50-100% in all regions in California, with a state average increase of 77% since June 12. In that same time, the number of counties with case rates over 100 per 100,000 residents has gone from 3 counties to 31 counties, confirming state-wide increased transmission of COIVD. While these counties are primarily located in the south and central valley, there are now counties on the monitoring list from all regions of California. Beyond the impact on the general population, community spread increases the likelihood of expanded transmission of COVID-19 in congregate settings such as nursing homes, homeless shelters, jails and prisons. Infection of vulnerable populations in these settings can be catastrophic, both in terms of high rates of morbidity and mortality of individual residents, as well as through the high demand such infections would place on the hospital delivery system. We are seeing these increases already in many of the counties. Higher levels of community spread also increase the likelihood of infection among individuals at high risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions who might live or otherwise interact with an infected individual.   


California's Pandemic Resiliency Roadmap for reopening is a risk-based framework that guides state and local governments on a path to re-opening activities and industries under strict workplace modifications. The above outlined sectors operating indoors create an environment that increases levels of community mixing of individuals outside of one's own household, increasing the risk of escalating the R-effective, or effective transmission rate, of COVID-19.

 

As described in the June 28 guidance and July 1 guidance, the sectors required to modify operations statewide under this guidance are sectors where there is increased risk of transmission due to a number of features of the business and the behaviors that occur within them. Because of noted trends in community spread statewide, well beyond those on the monitoring list, it is necessary to expand changes made to sectors in our order of June 28 and July 1 statewide.

 

Additionally, given the increased level of community transmission, this guidance requires additional sectors to close indoor operations in counties on the County Monitoring List for three or more consecutive days. Counties continue to be added to the county monitoring list and evidence of community transmission persists in these jurisdictions, requiring enhanced intervention through the additional sectors modifications.

 

The rationale for moving activities outdoors to reduce risk is anchored in the science of disease transmission and recent studies show that transmission is greater in indoor settings due to the release of infectious particles into the air when someone speaks, coughs, sneezes, or sings, which is exacerbated in indoor spaces particularly when lacking appropriate ventilation.  

 

Physical distancing also protects an individual with brief exposures or outdoor exposures. When distanced, there is not enough time to achieve the infectious viral load when standing six (6) feet apart or where wind and the infinite outdoor space for viral dilution reduces viral load. A study, which still needs to be peer-reviewed, suggests that the odds an infected person transmitting the virus in a closed environment was 18.7 times greater compared to an open-air environment. (1)

 

In the setting of an increasing body of evidence demonstrating that transmission is decreased when activities are conducted outside, and risk for exposure is increased when mixing beyond those with whom one lives, in an effort to mitigate to potential spread of COVID 19, the state is requiring that additional settings where patrons gather to be served or participate in the businesses' primary activity be moved outdoors. 

 

(1) Nishiura et al. (2020)

Closed environments facilitate secondary transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.28.20029272v2