California to Allow Some Retailers to Reopen With Curbside Pick-Up This Week

Clothing stores, bookstores, music stores, toy stores, flower shops and sporting goods stores can reopen as early as Friday

San Francisco storefronts
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Clothing stores, bookstores, music stores, toy stores, flower shops and sporting goods stores in California will be able to reopen with curbside pickup as early as Friday as the state begins to slowly reopen amid the pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday.

Offices where telework is possible, restaurants for seated dining and shopping malls will remain closed, Newsom clarified. Additional guidelines for stores reopening will be announced later this week.

“We are entering into the next phase this week. End of the week, with modifications, we will allow retail to start operating across the spectrum,” Newsom said. “This is a very positive sign and it’s happened only for one reason: The data says it can happen. But we recognize as we begin to modify, behaviors modify and possible community spread may occur.”

For county health officials that may feel it is still too early to reopen, Newsom said those local officials would still be allowed to prolong the closures of businesses in their respective areas. Counties that may want to reopen even further will also be able to do so if they meet requirements for contact tracing, testing and physical distancing.

“This is an optimistic day as we see a little ray of sunshine on the horizon,” Newsom said.

Last week, Newsom announced a four-stage framework for reopening the state. At the time, he said that California was “weeks” away from reopening some nonessential businesses and retail shops and “months” away from reopening movie theaters and concerts. Despite this, three counties in the state — Yuba, Sutter and Modoc — defied the “stay at home” order and have begun reopening, with Modoc allowing all businesses and schools to reopen as of last Friday.

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