A region that had been in lockstep has splintered in its approach to reopening parts of its economy.

Many Bay Area counties have indicated they are preparing to enter “Phase 2” of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to reopen California, which would permit curbside retail, manufacturing, business offices and some other services to resume operation. But others have held out, opting to keep all but essential businesses boarded up, while just outside the Bay Area, even some in-person shopping and dining is returning.

Regional approaches to reopening may be the wise public-health approach, but it can create a scattered and confusing news ecosystem. So we’re here to break down the basic questions and help guide you through all four phases of understanding where the region is and what lies ahead.

What does Phase 2 mean?

When Newsom unveiled his four-tiered plan to reopen the state, one stipulation for the second phase was that businesses would gradually reopen. He moved the state into that second phase at the end of last week, but more restrictive local orders issued by county health officers remained in effect, leaving the Bay Area and hard-hit Los Angeles region under lockdown. Any county not under a local order was permitted to open lower-risk businesses — such as clothing, bookstores, sporting good stores and florists — for curbside and delivery, but not shopping malls or dine-in eating. Parks and beaches are mostly open, but many parking lots remain closed and gatherings with those outside your household are still forbidden.

On Tuesday, Newsom outlined what the next stage of Phase 2 would look like: the return of in-person dining and shopping (albeit with masks and at reduced capacities). Butte and El Dorado counties were the first to have their “local variance attestation” approved, and that list has since grown to 20 and counting.

[ RELATED: 10 ways California restaurants will be different when they reopen » ]

What’s allowed in Phase 1: essential businesses and services, such as grocery stores, emergency services and municipal work.

What’s allowed in the early stage of Phase 2: curbside retail, manufacturers, logistics
childcare for those outside of the essential workforce, office-based businesses (telework remains strongly encouraged), car washes, pet grooming, landscaping, outdoor museums, open gallery spaces and other public spaces with modifications.

What’s allowed in advanced stage of Phase 2: retail stores, shopping malls, swap meets, dine-in restaurants and schools with modifications.

What’s still not allowed: movie theaters, gambling venues, arcades, indoor museums, kids museums, gallery spaces, zoos, libraries, community centers, public pools, playgrounds, picnic areas, religious services, cultural ceremonies, bars, nightclubs, concert venues, live audience sports, festivals, theme parks, hotels/lodging for leisure and tourism, nonessential travel and higher education.

So, there are essentially two stages of Phase 2?

Yes. Currently, a few counties remain in Phase 1; those without local orders have entered Phase 2; and some have received special approval to accelerate the pace at which they move through Phase 2.

Here’s a breakdown, as of Friday morning:

Phase 1/local order in effect: Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Los Angeles and Sacramento.

Phase 2 (early): San Francisco (starting Monday), San Mateo (starting Monday), Alameda (starting Monday), Marin, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Orange, Riverside, Ventura, Alpine, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Imperial, Inyo, Lake, Madera, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Stanislaus, Trinity, Tulare and Yolo.

Phase 2 (advanced): Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Nevada, Mariposa, Modoc, Placer, Plumas, San Benito, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Tuolumne and Yuba.

Which stage is the Bay Area in?

As noted above, two counties in the Bay Area have yet to indicate any plans to modify their local shelter-in-place orders, which remain in effect through May 31. Contra Costa did issue a new order Friday to allow for some outdoor and religious gatherings in cars, but remained behind Phase 2 in reopening retail and other businesses.

San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Marin, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Santa Cruz also had local orders in place through the end of month, but their health officers have either repealed or modified them to fall in line with the state’s guidance.

One requirement to enter the advanced stage of Phase 2 is no more than one new case per 10,000 residents and no deaths over 14 days, something only Santa Cruz County can claim in the Bay Area, according to this news organization’s analysis. Santa Clara and Napa come close to the new case requirements, but the former has reported 21 fatalities in that period and the latter just reported its third total death earlier this week.

What else is required to enter the second stage of Phase 2?

Any county that wants to accelerate its reopening must submit a 12-page application, called a “local variance attestation,” plus supporting documents.

The form sets forth a number of criteria counties are required to meet to prove their “readiness.”

  • 1 or fewer cases per 10,000 residents the past 14 days
  • No deaths for the past 14 days
  • Minimum daily testing of 1.5 per 1,000 residents, with recommendation of 2 per 1,000
  • Testing sites within 30 minutes of 75% of urban residents and 60 minutes of 75% of rural residents
  • 15 contact tracers for every 100,000 residents
  • Temporary housing available for 15% of population experiencing homelessness
  • Hospital capacity for 35% surge in COVID-19 patients
  • A “robust” plan to protect hospital workers and provide personal protective equipment
  • A 14-day supply and a documented supply chain of PPE for skilled nursing facilities

Have other counties been approved to further reopen?

Yes, 22 mostly rural, sparsely populated counties in Northern California had submitted local variance attestations that had been approved, as of Friday morning.

What comes after Phase 2?

With so few counties meeting the requirements to enter even the advanced stage of Phase 2, it seems unlikely the state will quickly move on to the third phase, which would allow for salons and gyms to reopen and for religious services and sports (without crowds) to return.

Currently, no county is allowed to supersede the state and move past Phase 2. But it’s possible if parts of the state continue to see disparate effects of the virus, the regional reopening approach could be implemented further.

Newsom has not laid out what it will take to enter Phase 3 but has said it is months, not weeks, away. As for Phase 4? That’s the end of the stay-at-home order, but it’s a long ways off, possibly more than a year.