SACRAMENTO, Calif — After 63 days on the California Department of Public Health's data monitoring list, Sacramento County only has one threshold to meet before being removed.
Sacramento County's Public Health Director Dr. Peter Beilenson said the county currently has a 14-day average case rate of 167 and the case rate in Sacramento needs to get to that number down to 100 before CDPH would start considering removing the county from the watchlist.
"Overall, I'd say we are kind of stable because our overall case rate has come down a little bit," Beilenson said. "We are on the watchlist but we'll probably come off it in the near future."
After counties get off the watchlist, businesses that operate indoors still don't know when they'll be allowed to re-open.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said that new guidelines will be announced Friday on when and how businesses can re-open after a county is removed from the data monitoring list.
While Sacramento County has a ways to go before it is off the watchlist, Beilensen said when the county does open, indoor bars are not likely to re-open with other indoor businesses.
"No fault of their own for running a bar; it is clearly more dangerous in terms of spreading the disease than Home Depot for example," Beilinson said.
In a bar, you may or may not be wearing a mask after a few drinks and are more likely to be in close contact without a mask for a longer period of time, increasing possible exposure to the coronavirus. Most of the time in stores people are wearing masks, Beilenson said he has observed in his random visits to businesses.
Sacramento County wants to have "a more surgical approach" to reopening he explained. Based on guidance from the state and what the county learned about transmission after reopening, Beilenson said businesses that have a greater chance of re-opening indoors could include:
- Restaurants with ample space for social distancing and disposable menus.
- Gyms or fitness studios with ample space and equipment that isn't shared.
- Stores with ample space for social distancing.
Beilenson said he does not know whether barbershops or salons will be able to re-open either, due to the often closer contact between clients and stylists or barbers.
"Even if they're both wearing masks, you're up against the person's face," Beilenson said. "It just goes to common sense, it's going to be more dangerous than if you are 10 feet away or something."
Belienson, in his update with the City of Sacramento Economic Development, added the county has contracted with the Center at Sierra Health Foundation, which can help businesses mitigate and attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus when they do re-open.