San Diego has long been America’s Finest City, and now more than ever, we’re driven to exemplify that as we take the lead in reopening. Recently, County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar penned a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, imploring him to permit San Diego to move into future stages as quickly as safe and possible.
Governor—It is time to give local control of this public health emergency to the elected leaders closest to the people so that we can begin the healing. pic.twitter.com/s1GdYs4Z3E
— Kristin Gaspar (@KristinDGaspar) May 9, 2020
Our city has led jurisdictions in California, both in recognizing the crisis and effectively flattening the curve. Now, we’re more than ready to spearhead recovery efforts, a fact that Gaspar recognizes.
“Our community has demonstrated a high level of compliance with all public health orders, and understand that it is unlikely we will resume business as usual anytime soon,” Gaspar said. “We are proud of our local businesses for developing robust safety and physical distancing protocols to demonstrate that they are indeed ready [to reopen].”
In his plan, Newsom mentioned the possiblity of certain cities being able to move faster into reopening phases, so long as they meet certain criteria. Gaspar notes that, in light of San Diego’s size, having zero deaths and under 25 cases per day for 14 days is simply not a reasonable standard.
“It will take months, if not years, to achieve this guideline… it is time to give local control of this public health emergency to the elected leaders closest to the people so that we can begin the healing,” she argued.
Governor Newsom must acknowledge the efforts of our local officials, small businesses, healthcare professionals, and citizens by allowing our county to move forward.
