- Move means capacity limits on businesses will be lifted
- State surpasses 20 million vaccine doses administered
California officials plan to fully reopen the economy on June 15 — if the pandemic continues to abate — after driving down coronavirus case loads in the most populous U.S. state.
The move will lift capacity limits on restaurants, movie theaters and other businesses, many of which have faced some sort of restriction for more than a year. The state will do away with its current tier-based reopening system, which is based on county-level virus metrics.
“We’re moving past the dimmer switch,” Governor Gavin Newsom said at a press briefing Tuesday. “This is a big day in terms of the pandemic and the journey that we’ve been on.”
The announcement gave a boost to stocks that rely on large crowds. Walt Disney Co. and Six Flags Entertainment Corp. briefly gained on the news, and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. — the largest movie chain — pared its losses.