There continues to be a lot of confusion about what businesses can open, largely due to different state and county orders, as well as a few businesses operating with no regard for health regulations, and advertising, which leads others to believe it's ok. If you are a business owner in Kern County and uncertain of what you are allowed to do, call the Kern County Health Department for advice: 661-321-3000
According to the the State of CA, "gyms" are able to open in "Phase 3" with certain limitations of course. However, this does not apply to contact sports including but not limited to martial arts. This was confirmed by Kern County Health Department as of 6-18-2020.
Some counties are able to advance to higher phases sooner if they meet certain criteria. It seemed strange that Kern County was able to move to phase 3 in the face of an increasing number of cases of COVID, etc. The statistics provided by Kern County in order to move forward were dated back in mid-May. The County was allowed to move forward based on those stats (see pic below).
Yesterday, as you may know, the state issued an order that masks are to be worn everywhere now.
Guidelines, rules, and orders aside, for the health and safety of our local community, we will continue to be closed until it is not only legal, but completely safe to resume operations. I will not trade my income at the risk of everyone's health.
We are however considering classes in which no contact would be made - practicing forms "kata." We are working closely with the local and state health departments to see if we can do so. If we are able to proceed, we will also operate carefully within local and state guidelines to do absolutely everything possible to ensure your health and safety. At this time, we do not feel it is appropriate to have anyone doing exercise in close proximity (even if 6 ft apart and wearing masks) for 45-90 minutes.
The link below is very helpful to understanding our road to recovery.
Stay healthy and safe!
https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap-counties/