California Takes Steps Toward Reopening With Virus Stabilizing

California, the first state to shut down its economy over the coronavirus, will start loosening its lockdown on Friday by allowing stores to sell items such as books, clothes and flowers through curbside pickup.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the changes Monday, saying the most populous state had sufficiently slowed the virus’s spread to allow for more commercial activity. Bowing to pressure from rural areas, Newsom said individual counties could relax stay-at-home rules even further, if they are effectively able to track and trace infections.

“We are definitely at a point, a sort of hinge moment in this pandemic,” Newsom said Monday during his daily virus update with reporters.

The state reported 39 more deaths Monday, the lowest daily tally in three weeks. Hospitalizations and intensive-care stays have stabilized, Newsom said.

The wide regional variances in California have spurred calls for Newsom to ease statewide restrictions. One rural county, Modoc, started allowing businesses to reopen Friday, while two more followed Monday in a challenge the state’s lockdown. The San Francisco Bay area, meanwhile, has extended restrictive measures until the end of the month.