By Eric Ting, SFGATE
Updated
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People wear masks as they socially distance themselves from one another while waiting in line to enter a grocery store on Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Alameda, Calif.
People wear masks as they socially distance themselves from one another while waiting in line to enter a grocery store on Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Alameda, Calif.
Photo: Ben Margot/Associated Press
Photo: Ben Margot/Associated Press
People wear masks as they socially distance themselves from one another while waiting in line to enter a grocery store on Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Alameda, Calif.
People wear masks as they socially distance themselves from one another while waiting in line to enter a grocery store on Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Alameda, Calif.
Photo: Ben Margot/Associated Press
Alameda and Contra Costa counties are likely to move into Stage 2 of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s reopening plan next week, meaning every Bay Area county except one will be in line with the rest of the state.
An Alameda County spokesperson told SFGATE Thursday that barring a big spike in cases over the next few days, retail for curbside pickup as well as associated manufacturing and warehouse work will be permitted to return sometime next week, but a specific date was not provided. A Contra Costa spokesperson also stated that the county is considering revising the health order to allow for all retail curbside pickup plus all “associated logistics” and manufacturing next week. As with Alameda County, a specific timeline was not provided.
San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties will bring back retail and manufacturing on Monday, meaning five of the six counties originally under a stricter order will all likely be in Stage 2 sometime next week.
Santa Clara County health officer Dr. Sara Cody was the driving force behind the original six-county order, and told her county’s board of supervisors Tuesday she has no immediate plans to modify the order.
“The conditions really haven’t changed in our county,” she said. “We don’t suddenly have a vaccine. We have exactly the same conditions we had in March,” Cody said. “If we did ease up, we would see a brisk return of cases, of hospitalizations, and a brisk return of deaths, to be quite blunt.”
Going forward, Alameda County said it plans “to align with the state’s guidance where possible” for eligible businesses. This comes in the wake of a high-profile dispute with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who opened his Fremont plant earlier this week and criticized the county for enforcing a stricter shelter-in-place order than the one in effect statewide. Alameda County and Tesla eventually reached an agreement and the plant remains open.
“We continue to emphasize the importance of universal face coverings and we are reiterating that to avoid big spikes in cases and to protect people who are at higher risk for severe illness, we are moving in a measured and incremental way,” Alameda County health department public information manager Neetu Balram said.
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Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: [email protected] | Twitter:@_ericting
