When California's COVID-19 regulations end on June 15, 2021 you can expect an end to capacity restrictions and physical distancing requirements.
Dr. Mark Ghaly of the California Department of Health and Human Services said that the state will largely align with the CDC's guidelines on mask-wearing, although some travel restrictions may linger to countries that are heavily impacted by the virus.
Dr. Ghaly provided specific examples of California's operating procedure beginning June 15.
- NO CAPACITY LIMITS
- NO PHYSICAL DISTANCING
- CDC MASKING PLAN. The CDC says it’s safe for fully vaccinated people to skip face coverings and social distancing in virtually all situations. The CDC guidelines say all people should still wear masks in crowded indoor locations such as airplanes, buses, hospitals and prisons.
- ALIGN with CDC TRAVEL RECOMMENDATIONS. Restrict/prohibit travelers coming from countries that have severe outbreaks. But there will not be quarantine and isolation requirements for travel within the country.
- VACCINE PASSPORT. There will be NO be a state-mandated or state-operated "vaccine passport" program. However, some businesses and venues may choose to require proof of vaccination for employees and customers.
- OUTDOOR EVENTS. For "mega-outdoor" events (with 10,000 or more in attendance), the state will recommend that even operators have a system to: verify vaccination; verify a negative COVID-19 test; or in the case where an attendee is neither vaccinated or tested, give the person an option to come into the event provided that they wear a mask at all times.
- INDOOR EVENTS. Proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test will be required for large-scale indoor events with over 5,000 people. "We are requiring -- requiring, not recommending -- a vaccine verification/negative test, and there will not be an option to come in if you're neither of those and you can't verify that by just wearing a mask," Ghaly said.
The state will provide venue operators and business with guidance about how to verify vaccinations and negative tests, which could include "self-attestation" by attendees.
It's important to note that these statewide changes do not overrule local public health jurisdictions that may enforce stricter guidelines if the area experiences a surge in cases.
Dr. Ghaly noted that with the state's reopening, case rates may increase. “We’ll see likely some increase in transmission, but because of the level of protection broadly across the state, we don’t think that transmission will have significant impact on our hospital delivery,” Ghaly said.