Every second and fourth Wednesday of the month, the Business Sector Support Team for the County of San Diego holds an informational telebriefing to help inform and answer questions for the community about important COVID-19 topics. This week's speakers included Erich Hannon, County of San Diego, Gary S. Johnston, Chief Resilience Officer / Agency Representative, San Diego Office of Emergency Services, and Dr. Thomas R. Coleman, Medical Director, Maternal, Child and Family Health, Health and Human Services Agency. To recap, the telebriefing discussed:
- As of Monday July 6, 2020, the state of California added San Diego County to the list of counties subject to the Governor’s restrictive measures.
- We have exceeded one of the state’s monitoring measures which was the case rate – number of positive cases per 100,000 population.
- Effective July 7, 2020 the Public Health Order indicated that indoor operations in restaurants, bars, breweries, wineries, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums, and cardrooms must close for the next three weeks to slow spread of COVID-19.
- Reopening site for the County of San Diego has been updated to track what is open, coming soon, and what is closed.
- Most of the state’s guidelines have been updated, except for schools, day camps, and daycare to reflect the new mandatory face covering requirements.
- Currently waiting for initial guidelines for higher education schools.
- Recommend to re-post Safe Reopening Plan to reflect the newest guidance on face coverings pertaining to your specific sector.
- Having received previous COVID-19 related assistance does not prevent businesses to apply to the Small Business Stimulus Grant Program.
Followed by questions asked from the community, and answers:
- Pool lanes
- State guidelines state that only members of the same household can share a swimming lane. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Condominium pools and beaches
- Both are open – see section 17 of the updated public health order and state guidance for outdoor recreation for additional requirements when visiting these settings. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Office spaces
- Office spaces are not on the list of settings that need to close indoor operations. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Active outbreak settings
- About 70% of recent COVID-19 outbreaks have been in restaurants and bars. Other outbreaks have been in healthcare, grocery stores, food manufacturing, and construction settings. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Track and trace – outbreak locations
- Outbreaks are occurring countywide, not in a specific cluster. Cases by city are continually updated on the County of San Diego Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard; however, the type of venue or setting is more important than the locations of the outbreaks. The county uses a heat map of locations to determine where to allocate testing resources but specific zip codes withheld for privacy reasons. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Outbreak interactions – employees v. patrons
- Outbreaks have occurred as a combination of employee to employee interaction, employee to patron interaction, and patron to patron interaction. Overall, there is a more significant risk indoors than outdoors, so anyone gathering for prolonged periods of time indoors has greater risk of outbreak. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Notifying customers of possible exposures
- You should only notify customers if you can confirm exactly who was exposed. It is recommended to let the epidemiology department guide the public notification of cases. Epidemiology Unit Contact Info: (619) 692-8499 [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Outside caterer or food truck meeting outside dining requirement
- Yes, but must be an approved vendor. Visit www.sdfoodinfo.org to find approved vendors. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Expanding sidewalk for more outdoor dining and retail
- County Public Health Order provides information for local jurisdictions. Restaurants and retails businesses offering services outdoors must review and update their Safe Reopening plan to reflect any changes in services. Physical distancing, sanitation, facial coverings, and temperature check requirements remain the same outdoors as indoors. Local law enforcement can enforce and cite businesses and individuals who are not following orders. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Two parties from different households seated at same table
- This is allowed as long as there is 6 ft of separation between the parties. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Mandated curfew changes
- Monitoring list does not change the mandated restaurant curfew of 5am opening and 10pm closing (with patrons leaving by 11pm). Outdoor dining must abide by these same hours, but delivery and drive-through operations are not restricted to these hours. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Face coverings at gym facilities
- See July 1, 2020 updated guidance for fitness facilities. Employees and patrons at gyms must wear face coverings, but state does not mandate patrons wearing face coverings during workouts as long as they are maintaining 6 ft distance. Patrons must put face coverings on when leaving a machine/location until they are again physically distanced. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Facial covering order
- Section 9 of recent Public Health Order includes state guidance on face coverings, which adds to the June 18th California Dept of Public Health guidance. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Essential travel definition
- Defining essential travel for work is based on FEMA’s critical infrastructure guidance. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Travel to and from Mexico
- International travelers must still go through the 14-day quarantine requirement when travelling to level 2 or 3 country, but workers do not have to go through this coming across the US-Mexico border for work. Exception: If you have fever, cannot cross the border back to the United States. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Resilience roadmap
- Updates to statewide industry guidance within the roadmap is not widely announced, so it is important to regularly check this guidance. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Employee paid sick leave for personal travel
- Check with your company’s HR policy, as this is an internal HR decision. Also reference Families First Act for paid sick leave information. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Guidance on sick employee
- If employee fails one of your symptom checks, have them contact their healthcare provider, or 2-1-1 if no provider. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Indoor dining in public transit like airport terminals
- Indoor dining is not permitted in airport restaurants for counties on the monitoring list, however, the airport restaurants can remain open for take out by travelers. [Posted 7/08/2020]
- Small Business Stimulus Grant Program
- Public Health Order
- Monitoring measures
- Reopening site
- Safe Reopening Plan
- Epidemiology Unit Contact Info: (619) 692-8499
- https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/coronavirus.html
- Outdoor recreation state guidance
- www.sdfoodinfo.org
- County of San Diego Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard
- Updated Fitness Facility Guidance
- FEMA’s critical infrastructure guidance
- Resilience Roadmap & statewide industry guidance
- To be added to email list: COVID-Business@sdcounty.ca.gov
- Small Business Stimulus Grant Application Instructions
We will be meeting again on Wednesday, July 22 at 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM. To request resources, ask questions, or address concerns, please contact COVID-Business@sdcounty.ca.gov.
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