The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on society, leaving many people confined within their homes in the midst of stringent social distancing guidelines. Yet with the arrival of summer’s hot weather comes an interesting challenge for the government, who have already struggled to prevent people from flocking outside in droves the minute the sun peeks through the clouds. In any case, California governor Gavin Newsome has recently unveiled his plans to slowly but surely begin re-opening the state as early as the end of the week.

Prefacing that his decision has been fueled by science, Newsome explains that several retail stores will be included in this new wave of re-openings. He names clothing stores, florists, bookstores, and sporting goods stores as some of the retailers chosen. As of this moment, offices, restaurants, and malls will not be subject to re-opening. 

“Millions of Californians answered the call to stay home and thanks to them, we are in a position to begin moving into our next stage of modifying our stay-at-home order,” Newsom explained, as reported to CNN. “But make no mistake — this virus isn’t gone. It’s still dangerous and poses a significant public health risk.” It should be noted that many health experts have reiterated the importance of social distancing measures, imploring the population to abide by them — even if some semblance of normalcy is achieved. 

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