California governor visits small businesses in Sacramento as some retail gets the go-ahead

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Gavin Newsom chose the backdrop of a small business called Display California with nine employees, a day after he announced that some retail stores could reopen by the end of the week.

He said the company is an example of what can open by the end of the week for curbside pickup, and he credited the owners for their sanitization measures when they return to work on Friday. 

Later in the day, Newsom said he'd be hosting a digital roundtable with manufacturing workers and small business owners. In a statement, he said he wants to hear their experiences and insights for what recovery can and should look like in a new economic landscape coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He said he hopes reopening some businesses will help. Already the has awarded $10.1 billion in unemployment benefits so far and that 4.1 million Californians have applied for unemployment since March 12.

Newsom reminded the public, however, that as the state moves into some middle ground, between staying at home and reopening society, "We have to remember the core construct of our orders, particularly when we move into this new phase." 

More people will be at risk, Newsom said, when more employees go back to work and customers go out to buy products. 

He said "what happens in this in-between" phase is very important in not triggering another spate of coronavirus cases.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said that moving forward cannot be a choice between economic health and the physical health of Californians. 

"It must be both," he said. 

Steinberg said that in this new phase, shopping behaviors won't be the same and people shouldn't fret about it. For example, customers shouldn't complain that they have to wait at the curb, employees should not come into work if they're feeling sick, everyone must always wash their hands. 

The alternatives, the officials said, is that we all go back inside under the strict stay-at-home orders. 

This story was reported from Oakland, Calif.