Imperial County one step closer to stage two lower risk

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY), Imperial County is one step closer to moving forward to stage 2 lower risk.

County health officials held a press conference Wednesday to give an update on the next steps that need to be taken to reopen.

The Imperial County’s 7-day positive testing percentage for COVID-19 is under 8% at 7.64%.

According to California's opening guidelines that number needs to stay below 8% for the next 14 days.

The county said that if the request to reopen is granted, a slow opening approach will be taken.

“If a variance is approved and we come off the data monitoring list and the state health officer order is updated then more sectors would be allowed to reopen. Bottom line it’s a gradual phased approach,” said Janette Angulo, Public Health Officer.

A variance approach would be applied similar to what other counties like San Diego have done by operating outdoors.

The county says they’re also learning from neighboring counties that have reopened and shortly after saw a spike in cases.

They want to ensure that doesn’t happen in the valley.

We spoke to one local business that says curbside pick up has been challenging and hopes to reopen soon.

We actually heard about that last night being able to open back up. That makes us really excited to be able to allow people to come in and shop. As a small business owner, this is how we make our money this is how we support our family so let people back in is a big deal for us," said Brianna Burgun, Driscoll's Sports.

Meanwhile some city leaders are looking into other options.

The city of Imperial has expressed that they are looking into reopening despite state orders.

The county says they understand the hardships each city is going through.

“This is a teamwork approach we need to remain united as a team to remain united. Not just for the residents of one area but the residents of the entire county," said Tony Rouhotas, CEO Imperial County.

All city mayors will be meeting tomorrow with the county to further discuss their options.