A revised public health order further loosening the Covid-19-related restrictions to allow "in-store retail, outdoor dining, all manufacturing, small service businesses, childcare and summer programs, as well as religious, cultural, and civic activities" has been issued by the Santa Clara County public health department.
Under the revised order, which takes effect Friday, small outdoor gatherings for dining and events such as religious services as well as in-store retail shopping will be allowed subject to capacity and social distancing regulations.
Subsequent to issuing the current order May 18, Dr. Sara Cody criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for the pace of re-openings permitted at the state level because she said they were being issued without the ability to quantify the success of the previous order.
“The state modifications are being made without a real understanding of the consequences of what the last move has been and with the possibly serious effect for health and possibly serious risk of an exponential growth in cases and therefore a risk to social and economic well-being,” Cody said on May 26.
She based her judgment on the incubation time from exposure to the coronavirus to developing Covid-19 of up to two weeks.
Today’s health order revision comes nine days after the May 22 order but takes effect 14 days after that order.
Cody did not directly address the reason why a new order could be issued more quickly than two weeks. The new order was issued through a press release, not in a press conference.
“Public Health is about ensuring health in every sense of the word: from diseases like COVID-19, and from social and economic impacts on health too," the release quoted her as saying. "For all those reasons, we have chosen to be measured in how and when we reopen.”
Without giving specific numbers, the release said five metrics have been met to justify revising the May 22 order: Testing is steadily increasing and the positivity rate is decreasing, rates of COVID-19 "are low and holding steady," hospitalization rates also are low and steady, outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities have been contained, and case investigation and contact tracing capacity is increasing and ahead of demand.
Santa Clara County has lagged behind the state in reopening sectors of the economy and, in some cases, behind other Bay Area counties. San Mateo County health officer Dr. Scott Morrow last week issued a new order for that county, effective today, that also lifts some restrictions on retail stores and childcare programs, but doesn't yet reopen restaurants for dine-in eating.
Under Cody’s leadership, seven Bay Area counties imposed the nation’s first shelter orders on March 16.
According to the county’s latest published Covid-19 statistics, there have been 2,776 confirmed cases of the disease through Friday, resulting in 141 deaths. Fifty-two people are hospitalized with Covid.