Friday brought a collective sigh of relief to some Orange County business owners who were allowed to reopen, with restrictions, after statewide closures to protect from the spread of the coronavirus.
At a Los Alamitos shoe store that reopened Friday, a sign at the door asks shoppers to wear a mask to enter. Inside, a plexiglass pane separates the cashier from customers and markings on the floor indicate where customers need to stand to keep 6 feet apart.
But shoe stores are among several businesses that were allowed to reopen for curbside pickup only during the first of four phases of reopening the economy.
The state has allowed these “lower-risk” businesses to reopen for pickup beginning Friday:
- Bookstores
- Toy stores
- Jewelry stores
- Clothing stores
- Shoe stores
- Sporting goods
- Music stores
- Florists
Health officials have emphasized that even as some locations are allowed to reopen, they will look very different. Visitors will have to adhere to social distancing and facial covering requirements.
Orange County provided guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for businesses reopening, which include:
- Encourage sick employees to stay home if they have symptoms of acute respiratory illness.
- Make sure your sick leave policies are flexible and consistent with public health guidance and that employees are aware of them.
- Have a plan in place should a large number of employees get sick or need to work from home.
- Sick leave policies should be flexible and permit employees to stay home if they need to care for a sick family member.
- If an employee shows to work sick or becomes sick during work hours, separate them and send them home.
- Encourage “sneezing and coughing etiquette” and hand-washing by all employees.
- Perform routine cleaning of all frequently touched surfaces, like workstations, countertops and doorknobs.
More detailed guidelines are available on the California Department of Public Health‘s website.
Orange County had reported a total of 3,240 cases of coronavirus and 71 deaths as of Friday.