Written by Julianne Foster
A recent announcement gave San Diego County business owners relief as the state accelerates into further reopening. The Stage 3 Pilot Program proposed by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to Gov. Newsom in May has been approved and more businesses were given authorization to reopen last Friday.
According to the program, gyms, bars, museums, hotels, zoos, outdoor recreation activities, camping and RV parks all had the ability to begin reopening on Friday. The diligence of San Diegans in complying with state health guidelines has been awarded since we are one of the approved counties to reopen according to the state’s top health official Mark Ghaly.
Businesses must abide by the county’s reopening guidelines listed for their specific industry to safely and appropriately reopen their doors.
Some businesses that have strictly not been allowed to reopen include nail salons, facial salons, tattoo parlors, and therapeutic massage venues as well as large scale concerts, conventions, and live sporting events. However, according to County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten, those businesses should expect to be hearing more about reopening in the coming weeks.
The Board of Supervisors has been pushing state officials to allow San Diego to take the lead in reopening as an example for the rest of the state to follow. Even with all of this progress, there is still work to be done, which is recognized by Supervisor Jim Desmond.
I’m with you San Diego County, some of these rules and regulations are very confusing! We need to simplify our orders and get things back to normal. Less government and more power to the people. pic.twitter.com/XEzjt5NDGF
— Supervisor Jim Desmond (@jim_desmond) June 11, 2020
“I’m with you San Diego County, some of these rules and regulations are very confusing,” said Desmond. “We need to simplify our orders and get things back to normal. Less government and more power to the people.”
Two public health officials, Dr. Rajiv Bhatia and Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, also support the notion that it’s time to return freedom to Americans to make their own decisions as California is now fully prepared to handle the pandemic. On March 4, Gov. Newsom gave sole control of the economy and people’s lives to state health authorities when he declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this level of control is no longer necessary.
The two health professionals wrote in a piece for CalMatters, “After months of living with COVID-19, we have more certainty. The virus is 10 times less fatal than we first thought. The vast majority who catch it will have mild or no symptoms. Children are largely spared.”
They are more concerned now with how the strict closure of schools, businesses, and continuation of stay-at-home orders is affecting the economy and people’s livelihoods. Public health officials have been given unchecked powers over decisions with their reports and data, but it’s past time to return decision-making to the American people.
