California walks backs shopper capacity limits for grocery stores

State officials in California have lessened a stringent retail capacity limit for grocery stores.

Health officials in the Golden State said they will allow grocery stores to operate at 35% capacity after initially calling for a 20% cap amid the state’s new stay-at-home order, reported The Los Angeles Times. The 35% is still down from a 50% cap, which has been in effect statewide since the beginning of the pandemic but was decreased in the more recent order.

To qualify for the increased capacity, grocery stores must be standalone operations and primarily sell food, the supplemental order states, noting that access must be “strictly metered” to ensure compliance, the report said.