San Bernardino County latest in SoCal to receive state approval to begin reopening more businesses

San Bernardino County is now the latest county in Southern California to be approved by the state for the accelerated reopening of some businesses that were shuttered at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the region.

As of Saturday, restaurant owners can reopen for dine-in services and malls and other retailers can resume operations with certain safety measures in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

"San Bernardino County businesses and residents worked very hard and made tremendous sacrifices to make this moment possible," said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman in a written statement. "Your efforts to keep our community safe and healthy have paid off. We can now proceed significantly further toward resuming our normal lives."

Ventura, Riverside and Orange counties have already begun moving forward with reopening under a faster version of stage two as part of California's four-phase plan to ease restrictions prompted by the pandemic.

Other high-risk businesses such as gyms, nail salons and movie theaters will remain closed as they fall under the last two phases of reopening.