California Retools Reopening Framework After Summer Virus Surge

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced new guidance for reopening the world’s fifth-largest economy, creating a statewide tier system rather than a county-by-county structure that has led to disparate approaches in restarting businesses.

The new framework creates four different categories as opposed to 58 separate metrics for each county to measure progress in the fight against the coronavirus. It also allows some sectors to be partially open as opposed to strictly being open or closed. Focus will shift from a broad set of metrics to just two -- case rates per 100,000 residents and test positivity rates -- to determine how a county is faring.