Safely reopening California

Last updated June 16, 2021 at 5:00 PM

Thanks to your trust in the vaccine and falling transmission rates, California has fully reopened its economy. This means no more physical distancing, no capacity limits, no county tiers, and relaxed mask guidance.

Reopening California

California is moving Beyond the Blueprint to safely and fully reopen the economy.

As of June 15, 2021, the Governor terminated the executive orders that put into place the Stay Home Order and the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. He also phased out the vast majority of executive actions put in place since March 2020 as part of the pandemic response, leaving a subset of provisions that facilitate the ongoing recovery.

The new public health order effective June 15 supersedes all prior health orders. The order has limited restrictions, only related to masking and mega-events, as well as settings serving children and youth pending an expected update to the K-12 schools guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Restrictions that ended on June 15 include:

Physical distancing
Capacity limits on businesses
County tier system

Read the Governor’s orders: N-07-21 and N-08-21. Find details in the California Department of Public Health’s Beyond the Blueprint for Industry and Business Sectors and the Questions & Answers.

Continuing safety measures

Everyday life will feel a lot like before COVID-19. But reopening safely means continuing vaccinations and protecting the health and well-being of Californians.

Do’s and don’ts for daily life

Restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters, and most everyday places will be open as normal with no capacity limits or social distancing required. Protect yourself and others by keeping these common-sense rules in mind.

Do

Wear a mask if you’re unvaccinated, especially in crowded, indoor spaces
Follow safety rules for mega-events
Get tested if you’re sick
Wear a mask while on public transit, even if you’re vaccinated
Honor mask and distancing rules in place at a private business
Get tested if required by your workplace
Wear a mask when you travel

Don’t

Expect others to be ready to shake hands or hug
Lose your proof of vaccination
Think you can’t get the virus or pass it on because you feel well
Assume everyone is vaccinated
Expect all COVID-19 rules everywhere to be lifted
Travel into the U.S. without proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test
Travel if you’re sick

Masks

California’s Department of Public Health has updated statewide masking guidance to match the CDC’s guidance, lifting California’s mask requirements for vaccinated individuals starting on June 15. Vaccinated people are able to come together without masks in most circumstances.

People who are unvaccinated must continue to wear a mask indoors in public settings to protect themselves and others. Also, there are some settings where masking is still required for everyone, such as:

Public transit
Hospitals
Long-term care facilities
Homeless shelters
Indoors in K-12 schools, childcare, and other youth settings

See CDPH’s Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings to learn where masks are recommended or may be required.

Travel

California no longer has a travel advisory in effect. There is now no state recommendation to test and quarantine before and after travel.

However, the California Department of Public Health asks that you do the following:

Delay travel until you’re fully vaccinated
If you’re not fully vaccinated, but choose to travel, get tested before and after
No matter your vaccination status, wear a mask while on public transportation or in a transportation hub

Get tested if you feel sick, and avoid traveling if you have or may have COVID-19.

See CDC’s travel guidelines and read more at CDPH’s travel flyer.

K-12 schools, day camps, overnight camps, and childcare

California continues to follow current COVID-19 public health guidance for K-12 schools until further updates from the CDC.

Day camps and other supervised youth activities must follow these specific portions of the current K-12 schools guidance:

Day camps and other supervised youth activities may post the checklist for day camps and other supervised youth activities in the facility.

The K-12 schools guidance does not apply to youth sports.

Current guidance for childcare programs and providers remains in effect.

The guidance for overnight camps remains in effect through September 2021 unless otherwise indicated by CDPH.

Mega-events

Mega-events are indoor events with 5,000 or more people and outdoor events with 10,000 or more people. This includes events like:

Conventions, conferences, and expos
Concerts, shows, and nightclubs
Sporting events
Live events and entertainment
Fairs, festivals, and parades
Theme parks, amusement parks, and water parks
Large private events or gatherings
Large races, marathons, and endurance events
Car shows

For indoor events with 5,000 or more people, attendees must confirm proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 status in order to attend.

For outdoor events with 10,000 or more people, it is recommended that attendees confirm proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 status in order to attend.

All attendees must follow CDPH’s Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings. These public health requirements and recommendations will be reviewed and reevaluated no later than September 1, 2021.

Workplace safety

There are no physical distancing or capacity limits for businesses and activities. Most businesses are required to maintain compliance with California’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), which include current public health guidelines. Certain workplaces, like hospitals and correctional facilities, are required to comply with the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATD) standard instead of the ETS. Find more details in the frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 Prevention ETS.

Visit saferatwork.ca.gov to learn more about COVID-19 workplace requirements.

County risk level map on June 15

We provided this map as a measure of how our communities were doing against COVID-19 under the Blueprint framework. Every county in California was assigned to a tier based on its positivity rate, adjusted case rate, and/or health equity metric (applied to counties with populations more than 106,000).

These metrics are no longer in effect. We provide this map for informational purposes only and as a means of comparing how our communities are doing with case rates and other measures, as compared to the metrics that were in effect under the Blueprint.

While county tiers are no longer associated with restricting activities, you can find the latest data about your county on the State Dashboard.

All data and tier assignments are based on results from week ending . See how tiers are assigned and changed, as well as county historical data (California Blueprint Data Chart), at CDPH’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework. Learn about regional ICU capacity at CDPH’s ICU Data.