Written by Destiny Garcia
The long-awaited shift to the red tier in San Diego County has brought joy to business owners and residents alike. Being in the red tier has allowed many businesses to reopen and brings back indoor dining.
For many San Diegans, the even more exciting news is that outdoor events, such as the Padres baseball
games, can host in-person spectators once again, though at a limited amount.
While in the purple tier, restaurants were only allowed to offer takeout and outdoor dining. Also, stadiums and large venues were not permitted to have any spectators.
Moving to the red tier has already provided a much-needed boost in revenue to struggling businesses, however, it still isn’t enough.
Under red tier regulations, movie theaters and indoor dining venues are allowed to operate at 25% of their capacity or under 100 people (whichever is less), museums and zoos are allowed to operate at 25% capacity, and gyms can only operate at 10% capacity.
Other states are pushing forward on reopening and allowing their economies to recover, but California is moving at a snail’s pace, and more businesses are being financially ruined as a result.
Attorney Michael Curran speaks for over 800 businesses in arguing that it is not the government’s
place to manage how businesses are run. A large number of these businesses remained open even through purple tier as a peaceful protest. He argues that these businesses have been open for a while and there have not been any COVID-19 outbreaks as a result, which draws the conclusion that businesses being open is not a significant factor regarding the spread of the virus.
