Yesterday the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on a set of guidelines for businesses to follow when stay-at-home rules designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 begin to ease up.
Saying that "Orange County has effectively flattened the curve," the supervisors were careful to add that the guidelines don't supersede any more restrictive orders from local governments, the state or the federal government. The guidelines, which were sent to Sacramento, include requirements for physical distancing, wearing face coverings (for customer-facing employees and patrons) and temperature checks for employees. The guidelines were compiled with the help of an ad hoc committee made up of local business leaders.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom said yesterday during his daily press update that he is “considering” asking the state’s K-12 schools to begin the 2020-21 school year much earlier than normal — perhaps as soon as late July.
State officials haven’t made any definitive decisions to alter the school calendar yet. The decision would be driven by public health considerations including hospitalization trends and the availability of coronavirus testing, contact tracing and personal protective gear. The governor cited concerns about “learning loss” during the pandemic.
Read more on LAist.
We get the latest on both stories.
We reached out to all the Orange County Supervisors. Chairwoman Michelle Steel and Supervisor Lisa Bartlett were unavailable. We didn’t hear back from the other three supervisors in time.
Guests:
Karin Michels, epidemiologist; chair and professor of the Department of Epidemiology at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health
Nick Gerda, reporter with the Voice of OC; tweets
Kyle Stokes, education reporter for KPCC; he tweets
Wesley Smith, executive director of the Association of California School Administrators