Gavin Newsom reacts to Bay Area softening shelter-in-place order, addresses inconsistencies

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 14, 2020, file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses an outline for what it will take to lift coronavirus restrictions during a news conference at the Governor's Office of Emergency Services in Rancho Cordova, Calif. less FILE - In this Tuesday, April 14, 2020, file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses an outline for what it will take to lift coronavirus restrictions during a news conference at the Governor's Office of ... more Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close Gavin Newsom reacts to Bay Area softening shelter-in-place order, addresses inconsistencies 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

During a press conference Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom reacted to the revised shelter-in-place order in effect in six Bay Area counties through the month of May.

Health officials across six Bay Area counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara — announced that certain outdoor businesses and activities such as construction, landscaping, golf and tennis could return on Monday, provided individuals maintain physical distancing.

Some questioned whether there were inconsistencies between the state and local order, as golf courses are currently ordered closed across the state under Newsom's stay-at-home order. The Bay Area order states that "on any issue where the local and state orders may differ, the stricter order applies," leading some to wonder if golf courses will not reopen until localities get an all-clear from the governor.

However, Newsom did not seem inclined to stop golf courses from reopening, and offered broad support for the revised Bay Area order.

"We are well in tune and in touch with the Bay Area counties," he said. "We look at low risk as a framework for reopening in many of these instances.... and we'll be looking at some of the specifics that came out as it relates to their guidelines. As it relates to golf, there are a number of parts in the state that do provide for low-risk golfing already, so that's not completely inconsistent."

Newsom did highlight one portion of the revised order that may be at-odds with the state order — allowing 12 or fewer children to gather for "educational or recreational" purposes.

"We had specifically the conversation about the 12 young folks, so that's a point of clarification we will be advancing," he said.

The full text of the section of the order in question states:

"Childcare establishments, summer camps, and other educational or recreational institutions or programs providing care or supervision for children of all ages that enable owners, employees, volunteers, and contractors for Essential Businesses, Essential Governmental Functions, Outdoor Businesses, or Minimum Basic Operations to work as allowed under this Order. To the extent possible, these operations must comply with the following conditions:

— They must be carried out in stable groups of 12 or fewer children (“stable” means that the same 12 or fewer children are in the same group each day).

— Children shall not change from one group to another.

— If more than one group of children is at one facility, each group shall be in a separate room. Groups shall not mix with each other.

— Providers or educators shall remain solely with one group of children."

The state currently does not allow for the reopening of childcare facilities, summer camps or similar institutions. Newsom stated that while this section needs to be resolved, he supports the rest of the order.

"Broadly, what they put out today is very consistent with the state guidelines and they've been incredible partners," Newsom said.

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Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting