More than two dozen California counties have asked for permission to loosen their stay-at-home orders beyond what the state allows, Gov. Gavin Newsom said, promising a speedy review of their requests as jobs continue disappearing by the millions in a coronavirus-induced economic downturn.
Newsom relaxed some statewide restrictions last week by allowing curbside pickup at most retail stores and giving manufacturers the OK to resume with some limits. He’s promised to release guidelines on Tuesday for the return of dine-in restaurants.
But many rural counties with few coronavirus cases are eager to jump ahead of Newsom to get started on recovering from a statewide stay-at-home order that has been in place for nearly two months.
Other counties are more cautious, prompting a dispute between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Alameda County leaders on Monday when the billionaire businessman reopened his plant in Fremont in defiance of local health orders.