California's top health official now says the state will drop social distancing and capacity restrictions on businesses when the state reopens on June 15.
Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Friday that as virus cases have dropped dramatically and vaccinations continue, it is safe for the state to remove nearly all of its restrictions.
The announcement is part of California's sweeping plan to reopen the state on June 15 and move away from the color-coded reopening strategy.
“We are now at a point, given our metrics that we’ve been watching, that we can begin to talk about moving beyond the blueprint,” said Dr. Ghaly. “We will not have capacity limitations, physical distancing. There will no longer be restrictions for attendees, customers and guests in business sectors.”
The state is also going to remove its quarantine and isolation requirements for travelers.
There will continue to be some restrictions on large indoor events. Attendees will still be required to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test in order to enter indoor events with 5,000 or more people. But the state is not rolling out its own vaccine verification system and Dr. Ghaly said the process can be done through "self-attestation."
The state will recommend but not require similar measures for outdoor events with 10,000 or more people.
Officials previously said that June 15 is the date that the state will adopt the CDC's looser mask guidelines, allowing fully vaccinated people to go without a mask in most situations.
Dr. Ghaly did express some concern that the change will expose unvaccinated people and some parts of the state still in the red tier to more risks, and said the state will continue to monitor the conditions closely.
He encouraged people who have not yet been vaccinated and are eligible to do so before June 15.
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