Riverside County reopens with removal of capacity limits, distancing requirements for most businesses and events

Riverside County, and the rest of the state, reopens today (June 15) with capacity limits and physical distancing requirements removed for most businesses and events. However, other safety measures may be needed based on the type of business or event.

All restaurants, bars, wineries, breweries, distilleries, gyms, movie theaters, museums, zoos and aquariums, as well as places of worship may operate indoors at full capacity and without physical distancing. Meetings, receptions and conferences may resume without testing or vaccination requirements, however, for large-scale events (defined as 5,000 or more individuals indoors and 10,000 or more outdoors), testing and vaccination requirements may apply.

Statewide mask requirements continue to change. At this time, customers at most businesses are not required to wear masks, however, employees are required to mask. Masks are still required for everyone when using public transportation or while at hospitals, schools, childcare settings, long-term care facilities and homeless shelters. For the most updated information, on mask requirements, click here.

“Getting back to our normal, daily lives has been of paramount importance to our residents, business operators and county employees,” said Board Chair Karen Spiegel, Second District Supervisor. “As we eagerly reopen and more residents return to these long-awaited for activities, let’s savor life and focus on recovery.”

Schools and childcare settings continue to have statewide restrictions pending updated guidance from the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, click here.

Riverside County’s confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to decline and vaccination rates continue to rise. The current case rate of COVID-19 is 1.6 per 100,000 residents and the positivity rate is 1.2%. Approximately 51% of Riverside County residents are now fully or partially vaccinated, of which 42.6% are fully vaccinated.

Image Sources

  • Dining out: Photo by Andrea Piacquadio