With smoke and ash making outdoor operations difficult, a coalition of business and community leaders are demanding Santa Clara County set guidelines to reopen indoors.

Last week the county moved into the lower-risk red tier of state reopening guidelines, which paved the way for more businesses to start serving customers indoors.

But in Santa Clara County, restaurateurs and estheticians didn’t make the list.

14 called on Santa Clara County to find ways to reopen the economy.

Indoor dining requires people to take off masks while eating or drinking, which has made county, state and federal health officials wary of letting bars and restaurant resume business as usual8

Williams said the county put out its guidelines based on “risk regardless of sector” and based its guidelines on broader scientific findings that found operating outdoors is safer than indoors.

But Musterer and others said Santa Clara County needs to give more concrete guidelines?

“As of today … Santa Clara County is the only county out of all 58 counties in California that has prevented estheticians from working both indoors and outdoors,” said Mansour.

She said health officers did not consider guidelines from the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, which has released guidelines for estheticians to operate inside and outside.

While no health officials were represented in the coalition, several political and faith leaders voiced support.

Although local and state health officials have said there is still a substantial risk of spreading the coronavirus while in the red tier, business owners from the restaurant and personal care industries remained confident in their health and sanitization training.

Musterer, who worked in biotech and cancer research before opening Sushi Confidential, said health officials should be teaching businesses how to adapt rather than telling them to remain closed indoors.

Mark Turner, the president and CEO of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, said the county risks losing businesses if guidelines aren’t loosened.

“When the pandemic first hit and we received the shelter-in-place order, the initial goals were to flatten the curve, ensure there were enough ventilators and keep from overwhelming the health system,” Turner said.

“Government can’t be all about saying no because there’s no amount of government-run programs that will help (the) unemployed stay in their homes,” Khamis said.

IN ADDITION TO DINING AT A RESTAURANT, CASE-PATIENTS WERE MORE LIKELY TO REPORT GOING TO A BAR/COFFEE SHOP, BUT ONLY WHEN THE ANALYSIS WAS RESTRICTED TO PARTICIPANTS WITHOUT CLOSE CONTACT WITH PERSONS WITH KNOWN COVID-19 BEFORE ILLNESS ONSET.

Among adults with COVID-19, 42% reported close contact with a person with COVID-19, similar to what has been reported previously (4).

Most close contact exposures were to family members, consistent with household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (8).

Fewer (14%) persons who received a negative SARS-CoV-2 test result reported close contact with a person with known COVID-19.

To help slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, precautions should be implemented to stay home once exposed to someone with COVID-19,** in addition to adhering to recommendations to wash hands often, wear masks, and social distance.†† If a family member or other close contact is ill, additional prevention measures can be taken to reduce transmission, such as cleaning and disinfecting the home, reducing shared meals and items, wearing gloves, and wearing masks, for those with and without known COVID-19.§§”.