California to drop social distancing requirements when state reopens mid-June

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California’s top health official said Friday that the state no longer will require social distancing and will allow full capacity for businesses when the state reopens on June 15 but will not require a "vaccination passport" system. 

State health director Dr. Mark Ghaly said that dramatically lower virus cases and increasing vaccinations mean it’s safe for the state to remove nearly all restrictions next month.

Statewide, California's test positivity rate is 1.1 percent. There were fewer than 1,000 new reported cases for a consecutive seven-day period, and only three new cases for every 100-thousand residents in the state.

"We're at a place in the pandemic where the things we've done in the past are no longer required for the foreseeable future," Ghaly said.

As for masks? 

"We will continue to have some masking," but in conformance with national guidelines, Ghaly said. California’s workforce regulators are separately developing safety rules that will continue to apply to employers, he noted.

Ghaly also emphasized that California will not create a vaccine passport system, but is working on a way to help people who misplace or lose their vaccination cards.

SEE ALSO: Santa Clara County, moving into yellow tier, overhauls COVID rules

Gov. Gavin Newsom had already signaled that the state would reopen by mid-June, but on Friday, more specifics were laid out. They include:

• There will be no more capacity limitations.
• There will be no physical distancing in businesses.
• Masking and travel will align with CDC guidelines.

The state will still recommend that organizers of outdoor events with more than 10,000 people require that attendees provide verification that they have been vaccinated or have tested negative for the coronavirus. 

Those who can’t or don’t provide the verification should be encouraged to wear masks, Ghaly said.

SEE ALSO:  When do I still need to wear a mask?

The state will require vaccine verification or negative test results for indoor events with more than 5,000 attendees, but Ghaly said that can be "by self-attestation" with details to come from health officials on how that process will work.

Ghaly also said local health authorities will be allowed to maintain stricter rules for their area beyond June 15.

He said California plans to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on wearing masks and traveling domestically and overseas.

That means no more discouraging travel unless there are certain countries where travel is not advised and no more voluntary quarantines when people return to California.

As of Friday, there were still 10 California counties that remained in the state's red tier - the most restrictive.

Ghaly did not elaborate on what might happen with regards to masking rules changing for kids and camps this summer. 

Earlier this week, the governors of Oregon and Massachusetts announced children in grades K-12 doing outdoor camps and sports will not be required to wear masks. There was no mention of how masking rules could change for children in California. 

California health officials have said that children will be required to wear masks for the remainder of the school year, this spring.

"In the fall we want to set them up to be 100 percent in person so that we can get to that point," Ghaly said. "We still have an important group, 2-to 11-year-olds who may not be vaccinated until this fall. It's sooner than we ever thought, but is still an important group to consider."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.