Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state would begin Phase II of its reopening plan.
“We are entering into the next phase this week,” the governor said, calling it a “positive” data-driven marker.
The announcement means bookstores, music stores, toy stores, florists, sporting goods and some other retailers can begin opening for pick-up on Friday.
Part of what motivated the decision is progress on contact tracing, the governor said. The state is working with UC San Francisco and UCLA to train thousands of contact tracers. It would like to train 10,000 to start and eventually get up to 20,000 people.
Though some benchmarks are being met, it’s worth considering whether increasing defiance on the part of individuals and local governments had some bearing on Newsom’s decision.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.