Coronavirus: Ventura Begins Reopening, Reports 21 New Cases

VENTURA (CBSLA) — Ventura County began reopening Friday, along with the rest of the state, allowing lower-risk retail businesses to operate with curbside delivery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are at a turning point because of the community's incredible compliance with social distancing and the sacrifices of individuals and businesses," Mike Powers, County of Ventura CEO, said in a statement. "These efforts have saved lives, helped prevent the spread of the virus in our community and put us in a position to move forward gradually and safely in reopening our economy. Our ability to move forward is directly tied to our continuing commitment to physical distancing."

Clothing stores, bookstores, sporting goods stores and florists were all allowed to reopen, though it was up to individual businesses to make the decision.

The county said it had made progress in meeting Gov. Gavin Newsom's requirements for moving forward, including hospital surge and personal protective equipment capacity, protection of high-risk patient populations, contact tracing capacity and data-driven public health guidance.

"We have a plan for verification and education under our Public Health Officer Doctor Robert Levin's guidance to further ensure our local businesses can reopen and do so safely," Powers said. "We have found almost universally that our local businesses truly want to comply. ... They get it and want to make sure they protect their employees and customers."

Before reopening, businesses have to comply with a list of items aimed at keeping workers and customers safe.

More information about the county's Stage 2 order can be found online.

As of Friday, Ventura County reported 652 cases, an increase of 21 from Thursday, and 19 deaths. There were 435 recovered cases and 198 active cases under quarantine.

The county reported 29 people were hospitalized Friday, with 12 in intensive care units. There had been 12,863 tests completed.