California unveils path for pro sports, dining and shopping to reopen

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday loosened the criteria for counties to reopen in the coronavirus pandemic — a move that could see much of the state released from strict lockdown rules.

All but five of the Golden State’s 58 counties will soon be able to green-light dining-in at restaurants, in-store retail shoppinh and the reopening of hair salons — should they choose to, Newsom said at a press conference.

“Bottom line is: People can go at their own pace, and we are empowering our local health directors and county officials that understand their local communities and conditions,” Newsom said.

Under the new framework, the state could also allow spectator-free professional sports to begin in June. And churches could begin reopening withing weeks, Newson said.

The new criteria come after leaders of some larger counties griped that even a single coronavirus death would block them from moving deeper into the second phase of the old reopening rules, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Several counties had defiantly reopened ahead of the governor’s plans earlier this month.

The new rules notably scrap the requirements that a county must have zero deaths and no more than than one case per 10,000 residents over a two-week period.

Instead, counties must have no more than 25 cases per 100,000 residents — or a positive rate among coronavirus tests of 8 percent or lower.

They also must have no higher than a 5 percent increase in hospitalizations over a 7-day period, or fewer than 20 hospitalizations in total over 14 days.

Twenty-four counties in mostly rural Northern California had already won approval under the old guidance.

With Post wires