The County Thursday revised its Health Officer Order to relax restrictions on parks, golf courses, and recreational boating, effective May 1. Cities may have their own park restrictions, and anyone should check the rules for the specific park before visiting.

Among the revisions:

• Parks and their parking lots can reopen with 50% parking capacity.

• Members of the same household can sit, picnic, or participate in sports and other activities at parks. Group activities and gatherings are not allowed.

• Golf courses can open but must have a physical distancing and safety plan in place and conduct temperature screenings for employees and golfers. Golf carts are not allowed. Anyone with a 100-degree temperature or higher must not be allowed on the premises.

The County is also allowing recreational boating in local lakes, bays, and the ocean. If more than one person is in the boat, they need to be members of the same household.

Beaches were allowed to open April 27, but each city will decide whether its beach can open. However, all beach parking lots must remain closed, and no sitting or lying down is allowed at any local beaches.

The revised health order also requires everyone to wear a face-covering when in public and within six feet of people not in the same household, or anytime when entering a business. See more details and exceptions.

San Diegans must continue to maintain physical distancing. Handwashing and other preventive measures are still recommended.

“As San Diego County residents, you have done a great job over the past six weeks,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., County public health officer, after explaining that the County is easing some of the restrictions because the region has met four of the five federal criteria and state recommendations for reopening.

“If we see a trend going in the wrong direction because people are not following the recommended guidelines, we can dial back the Health Officer Order,” Wooten said, adding that her order has been extended until further notice and to align with the state.

FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED IN PUBLIC

Beginning May 1, all San Diego County residents will be required to wear cloth face coverings in public when within 6 feet of another person who is not a household contact.

“When you wear a face covering, you protect those around you,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer, “When others use a face covering, they protect you.”

The cloth facial coverings, which will be required until further notice, don’t have to be hospital-grade but should cover the nose and mouth.

Homemade masks, bandanas, scarves, and neck gaiters are acceptable since these items can be washed and reused. Facial coverings don’t need to be used when people are at home.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cloth face coverings should:

• Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face

• Be secured with ties or ear loops

• Include multiple layers of fabric

• Allow for breathing without restriction

• Be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to the shape.

Cloth face coverings are an important safety practice for the public to follow to prevent COVID-19 droplet transmission, according to the CDC and the California Department of Public Health.

Residents are still required to stay at home as much as possible, practice social distancing of at least 6 feet, and use other public health measures, such as frequent handwashing, sanitizing protocols, and staying home when sick.

Where to Wear Coverings

Face coverings must be worn in public settings, such as:

• Waiting in line to go inside a store

• Shopping in a store

• Picking up food at a restaurant

• Waiting for or riding on public transportation

• Riding in a taxi or ride service vehicle

• Seeking health care

• Going into facilities allowed to stay open

• Working an essential job that interacts with the public

• Face coverings will not be required:

• At home

• In the car alone or with members of the same household

• When advised by a medical doctor

• For children under 2 years old due to the risk of suffocation

• When swimming, walking, hiking, bicycling or running provided there is social distancing

• “People must have a face-covering readily accessible to put on in populated areas to avoid droplet spread in a six feet radius when participating in any type of active recreation,” Wooten said.

• Local business must:

• Require employees, contractors, owners, and volunteers to wear a face-covering at work and when working off-site

• Inform customers about wearing a face covering, including posting signs and advising those inline or in the store

• Refuse service to anyone not wearing a face covering.

Will Citations Be Issued? 

The primary goal of the face coverings is for San Diegans to protect each other by following public health orders. It would be unreasonable to expect law enforcement to patrol individual face-covering adherence.

However, people who choose not to wear face coverings may be cited and denied access to businesses, transit, or recreational areas. 

COUNTY MEETS 4 OF 5 CRITERIA FOR REOPENING

The County is using five federal criteria and state recommendations to determine when and how to ease or lift some of the restrictions in the local Health Officer Order.

The County has met four of the five federal criteria – symptoms, cases, and hospitals –and has made progress in the remaining testing criteria.

Four Criteria Met

• The County has experienced a 14-day downward trajectory in the number of people with influenza-like illness (ILI) at local emergency departments. From March 16 to April 15, the percent of emergency department visits for ILI dropped from 10% to 3%.

• The County must register a downward trajectory of COVID-like syndromic cases reported within a 14-day period. This trend has varied but has been declining in recent days.

• The number of positive cases of COVID-19 in comparison to the number of tests administered over a 14-day period is in a downward trajectory. Since April 6, the County has experienced a decreasing percentage in positive COVID-19 tests among San Diegans.

• The local health care system has been able to handle the number of patients needing hospitalization for COVID-19 and other illnesses and diseases. Currently, hospital capacity remains stable.

“We have met four of the federal criteria and will continue monitoring to make sure the trends continue,” Wooten said.