6 Bay Area counties relax some shelter-in-place restrictions, certain businesses to reopen May 4

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Six Bay Area counties have jointly agreed to ease some restrictions of the ongoing shelter-in-place orders amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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Last Monday, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties, as well as the City of Berkeley, which has its own public health department, announced an extension of the stay-at-home orders through May 31.

Starting May 4, a few activities that were previously banned will be permitted and some businesses forced to closed will now be able to reopen

"All construction activities, certain businesses that operate primarily outdoors, and some outdoor activities will be allowed to resume with specific conditions," Bay Area public health officials said in a joint press release.

Outdoor businesses that are allowed to resume include construction, retail nurseries, landscapers and gardeners, as they are lower risk. However, restaurants or cafes with outdoor seating are not included.

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Markus Czirban owns Liaison Landscaping in San Francisco. He says the pandemic has hit his business hard and he's struggled to keep his staff employed. He's jumping for joy that he made the cut.

"Tomorrow, we're able to assume our operation pretty much at a full scale, doing things that were considered non-essential before. Construction of outdoor kitchens, building of decks," said Czirban who says that the safety of his staff and clients are a top priority.

They will continue to practice social distancing and provide PPEs to their workers.

Some businesses that are allowed to open are telling their customers they can't. A nursery in San Mateo said they couldn't secure enough hand sanitizers to open on Monday.

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City Kayak said they'll be back in June. And when we called a table tennis club in Alameda, they told ABC7 over the phone, they're out of business. Czirban says Monday will be a lifeline for his business.

"Being able to get our guys back to work, people are concerned to feed their families, these times are very uncertain for a lot of people," said Czirban.

For more guidance on activities that are permitted under the loosened shelter-in-place restrictions to take effect Monday, May 4, see the articles below:

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