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 The announcement marked the most tangible sign yet that California,
which emerged in recent months as a leading U.S. coronavirus
hotspot, has moved beyond the worst days of a crisis that pushed
much of its healthcare system to breaking point.
Across the country, New York Governor Mario Cuomo said he planned to
relax a number of unspecified restrictions in the days ahead, as
long as transmission rates there remained low.
The United States as a whole has also seen declines in newly
reported COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions over the past two
weeks, following an alarming year-end spike of infections.
In parts of California, Texas and other states, that surge filled
hospital intensive care units, emergency rooms, ambulance bays and
morgues to overflowing.
The newly improved outlook nevertheless came as the country
surpassed the ominous milestone of 25 million known infections, with
nearly 419,000 American lives lost from the pandemic.
Scientists have warned that another wave of contagion could loom on
the horizon with the emergence of several coronavirus variants found
to be more transmissible than the original.
One such variant first detected in Britain, and associated with
higher mortality, has been documented in at least 20 U.S. states in
recent weeks.
On Monday, the Minnesota Department of Health announced it had
confirmed the first U.S. case of a variant from Brazil that medical
experts have said might prove resistant to antibody therapeutic
treatments.
'NOT OUT OF THE WOODS'
California's stay-at-home restrictions, among the most stringent
constraints on business and social life imposed anywhere in the
country, were triggered in early December when available space in
hospital ICUs reached maximum capacity.
Governor Gavin Newsom said infection rates and hospital admissions
in California, the most populous U.S. state with 40 million
residents, have since declined dramatically, and projections show
available ICU capacity climbing well above minimum thresholds over
the next month.
"But we are not out of the woods," Newsom added, urging continued
adherence to mask-wearing requirements and social distancing until
collective immunity can be achieved through vaccinations.
The stay-at-home rules lifted on Monday had required residents to
remain largely indoors and avoid travel around the clock, except as
necessary for permitted activities such as grocery shopping, medical
appointments, individual outdoor exercise and dog walks.
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 Those constraints were lifted
on Monday for Southern California, the San
Francisco Bay area and the state's largely
agricultural San Joaquin Valley. The greater
Sacramento area was excused from the order two
weeks ago, and the extreme northern California
region was never under it.
The governor stressed that lesser restrictions
imposed in November remained in effect for most
of the state - a nightly curfew on all indoor
social gatherings and non-essential activities
outside the home from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
He said 54 of California's 58 counties remain under that curfew for
now as part of the state's color-coded purple tier of the strictest
COVID-19 public health measures.
MIXED FEELINGS
One of the most immediate practical effects of Monday's action is
that restaurants, which had been restricted to carryout and delivery
service only, can return to offering outdoor dining.
Some in the restaurant industry, which has been largely critical of
Newsom's clampdown on eateries, remained ambivalent about easing the
rules. "I hope we're not rushing into things and I
hope everyone that is going to partake in outdoor dining is going to
respect the rules and is going to do their best to ensure a safe
environment for everyone," Cara Devereaux, assistant manager at
Cato's Ale House in Oakland, told Reuters.
Nail and hair salons may also reopen on a limited basis, with masks
required of staff and customers, while some youth sporting events
are permitted to resume as well.
Newsom said California has tripled its pace of administering
vaccines, giving more than 2.4 million doses out of 4.5 million
doses shipped to the state as of Monday. He set a goal of
administering 1 million more shots over the next 10 days.
As previously announced, Californians aged 65 and older are now
eligible for vaccines along with healthcare workers,
first-responders, food and agricultural workers, teachers and school
staff. After that, immunization eligibility will be prioritized
among the general public on the basis of age, Newsom said.
(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional
reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif., Nathan Frandino
in Oakland, Calif., Lisa Shumaker in Chicago; Editing by David
Gregorio and Himani Sarkar)
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