San Diego County officials on Wednesday loosened public health restrictions on gatherings for funerals as they waited for state approval to start allowing dining in restaurants and shopping in retail stores.
The county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to move deeper into Stage 2 of the governor’s reopening plan if the state grants approval. In a separate vote Tuesday, supervisors voted 4-1 to ask the governor to let San Diego test the waters in Stage 3 by allowing other businesses such as salons and gyms, as part of a pilot program, to operate with restrictions.
While the county is adhering to state guidance, casinos on tribal lands are not. The gaming operations are not subject to state or county public health orders, so tribes have reopened or announced plans to reopen this week.
County officials expressed optimism that the state would quickly approve the county’s request to move deeper into Stage 2, though they had not received a response from Sacramento as of Wednesday afternoon. They said they hoped to get a response by the end of the week.
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“Because we are still waiting on that, to be clear, in-person dining is not allowed,” county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said Wednesday.
The county also had not received the state’s answer to its letter proposing a pilot program for Stage 3 reopening, officials said Wednesday afternoon. They said they did not know if and when they would get the state’s response.
Officials determined San Diego County was eligible to advance further into Stage 2 of the state’s Resilience Roadmap, having met revised reopening criteria the governor had laid out Monday, including a stabilization of new COVID-19 cases and thresholds for testing and hospital capacity.
For example, the new rules require counties to have less than 8 percent of tests coming back positive in the past seven days. As of Tuesday, San Diego County’s rolling two-week average of positive tests was under 5 percent.
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The trend in lower percentages of positive tests continued this week, as the county reported new cases and deaths Wednesday afternoon.
County officials on Wednesday reported 114 new COVID-19 cases and eight more deaths.
The new cases represent about 2 percent of the 4,802 tests conducted Tuesday. To date, the county has reported a total of 6,140 cases of COVID-19 and 230 deaths.
The victims were between the ages of 68 and 99. All of them had underlying health conditions.
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Fletcher announced Wednesday that the county has loosened restrictions against gatherings of members of different households for funerals.
The county’s health order continued to ban most gatherings of people who do not live in the same household, with limited exceptions. Funerals are now an exception, though there are restrictions.
Everyone who attends a funeral must wear a face covering unless they are in a group specified in the county order as exempt from the requirement, Fletcher said Wednesday. And everyone must maintain at least 6 feet of distance from people not in their households.
Funerals could be performed indoors or outside, Fletcher said. He encouraged outside services because there is lower risk of transmitting the novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease.
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He emphasized that no ongoing religious services were allowed except for funerals.
While the county pursued state approval for advancing its reopening timeline, tribal casinos, which are on sovereign lands not subject to the state or county public health orders, moved ahead this week to reopen with safety precautions — despite the objections of some state and county officials who feared gatherings of people would allow the virus to spread.
Casinos resuming or planning to resume business this week include Viejas Casino and Resort in Alpine, which began operations on Monday; Jamul Casino, which had a soft reopening for select members on Monday with plans to open to the public on Thursday; and Valley View Casino and Hotel in Valley center, which plans to open Friday.
Pala Casino Spa & Resort announced Wednesday that it will reopen Friday , while Casino Pauma announced it will not reopen under the advice of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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Sycuan Casino Resort in El Cajon reopened Wednesday after being closed since mid-March because of the pandemic.
Between 300 to 350 regular guests attended an earlier soft opening Tuesday at Sycuan, along with 1,200 staff members. The casino then remained open overnight to avoid long lines during the scheduled grand reopening Wednesday at noon.
“We’re always cautiously optimistic,” said Rob Cinelli, Sycuan general manager. “Even though we planned like crazy, you never know when things could go wrong. We had very few hiccups, so yesterday really told us that the plan we’ve been working on over the last three months is working.”
Having a pre-opening allowed staff to troubleshoot where they might need to make changes, Cinelli added.
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Feedback from the soft opening led to more hand-sanitizing stations being placed on the casino floor and moving thermal temperature readers into shaded areas to keep them functioning properly.
In preparation to start reopening in phases, an antimicrobial-based, self-cleaning coating known as TruClean has been sprayed on surfaces throughout the casino.
Capacity has been limited to half as the casino slowly reopens. There are typically 6,000 guests on a Wednesday, and the limit was 3,000 for the reopening.
At black jack, craps and other game tables, there are markers where people can stand and the capacity at each has been reduced by half. Every other slot machine has also been turned off to help guests social distance, and cash and chips are being sanitized under UV lights in the back of the house.
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Hours of operations and the number of open food and beverage venues has also been limited during this first phase of reopening.
To enter the building, all guests and employees need to have their temperature checked using a thermal camera and everyone has to wear a mask. Employees also have the option of wearing face shields as an added layer of protection, and most of the table dealers did so.
The main lobby bar has been cut down to four seats instead of the usual 10, and guests are not allowed to stand in the spaces between seats. Additional bar stations with plexiglass barriers where patrons can buy soda and water have been placed throughout the casino to avoid lines from forming.
Each bathroom has a constant attendant who cleans whenever someone leaves the restroom.
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The casino is also using anonymous cell phone data to track where people are within the casino so large clusters of guests can be avoided.
In the hotel, every other floor will remain empty as they gradually increase occupancy. The hotel was planning for 126 arrivals on Wednesday.
Guests are still able to smoke in the smoking section of the casino floor, but they’ve been encouraged to go to other areas that have been designated for smoking where people can adhere to social distance.
The buffet, pool, spa, fitness center and valet parking service at Sycuan will remain closed for the time being.
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Pala Casino Spa & Resort officials said when they reopen Friday, they will employ increased disinfecting protocols for areas that are touched often, like elevator buttons and handrails.
“While we are eager to reopen, we remain dedicated to carefully monitoring this evolving situation and following the advice and guidance of federal and state officials and public health agencies,” CEO Fred Buro said in a statement.
Thermal camera scanners will be used to check guests and staff as they arrive, seats at tables will be reduced, social distancing of 6 feet will be enforced in lines, and chips will be sanitized. Guests who show flu-like symptoms will be removed and hand-sanitizing stations will be available throughout the building, the statement read.
Casino Pauma is the first tribe to announce it will not reopen.
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“It is very important to the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians and Casino Pauma Leadership that we continue to demonstrate that ‘Where People Come First,’ is more than a slogan,” General Manager Jim Thomason said in a statement. “Chairman Temet Aguilar, the tribal council and Casino Pauma leadership do not believe in gambling with the health and safety of our guests, our Team Members or the community.”
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, county officials said rules limiting beach access will stay the same, with parking lots closed and activity limited to walking, jogging, swimming and surfing. Sunbathing or sitting down will not be allowed and social distancing from people in different households is required even in the water.
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