SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to send a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom requesting they be allowed to reopen the local economy.
The board voted 4-1, with Supervisor Nathan Fletcher voting "no," to take further steps into reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic. The letter requests San Diego County be permitted to reopen gyms, hotels, nail salons, wineries and breweries, churches at full capacity, theme parks, youth sports, charter and fishing boats, community pools, and museums, Supervisor Jim Desmond tweeted.
Following the vote, Desmond said in a statement that it will be up to Newsom, but that most of the board believes the county is ready.
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"Just now, the Board approved a plan telling the Governor we are ready to open for business. It's ultimately up to the Governor to decide, but the message is clear from the Board of Supervisors, we are ready to open," Desmond's statement read.
It wasn't immediately clear what specific limits these businesses would be required to operate under if allowed to reopen. Though, the county has released reopening criteria (available here).
Fletcher said he could not support the measure to send the letter to the state because he believes "we should stay the course in opening in a safe, responsible and systematic way."
RELATED: San Diego County allows churches to reopen with limits
"We have had success in our re-opening because of the approach we have taken and not in spite of it. While I agree with the need to continue our safe reopening, and believe a number of additional entities are ready to open at this time I could not support the calls by my colleagues to reopen higher risk entities like churches at full capacity immediately," Fletcher wrote. "I look forward to additional progress in the coming days and weeks but do not support this reckless approach."
The board also voted to immediately reopen all beach activities and requested a staff report on how COVID-19 has impacted San Diego's most vulnerable populations.
As of Tuesday, San Diego County reported 7,554 coronavirus cases and 269 deaths.
