Late Wednesday San Diego County got word from the governor that its application has been granted to proceed further into “stage two.” This basically means that restaurants can open to seated dining, and you can once again go into retail stores, not just pick up your purchases at the curb.
One thing that has been particularly confusing with all the reopening is that some things go into effect immediately, and others don’t. This latest change is effective now, and restaurants and shops can reopen as soon as they complete their safe reopening plans as required by the county. You can read more about that here. A copy of the plan must be posted where the public can see it.
What will be different
Even though I know we’re all excited by this significant step forward, please keep in mind that businesses, including restaurants, are not going to operate the same way. You might need to wait outside to avoid stores being too crowded. Face coverings and physical distancing will be required when entering businesses. Floors will have markings so you know to allow a 6-foot distance when waiting in line. Some aisles will be marked “one way.” Store hours may be modified to provide time for thorough cleaning and product stocking.
Signs will also need to be posted at each public entrance to inform employees and customers that they should avoid entering if they have COVID-19 symptoms and to take other health precautions. Restaurants have even more requirements. To give you a feel for what to expect, here are just some of the changes restaurants need to make (see the full list on the county website):
•Space all tables 6 feet apart or if unmovable, install a barrier or partition to separate tables.
•Make sure people maintain a 6-foot distance while waiting for tables.
•Limit the number of patrons at a single table to a household unit or patrons who have asked to be seated together (people in the same party seated at the same table do not have to be 6 feet apart).
•Food items that can be touched by multiple customers or be shared between tables such as condiment bottles, salt and pepper shakers and breadbaskets are prohibited.
•No self-service buffets, salad bars; no self-serve machines like soda or frozen yogurt.
•Non-food items that may be used by multiple customers, such as menus, must be disinfected between each use or modified to be a single use item, such as a disposable paper menu.
•Designate a team member each shift to oversee the implementation of additional sanitization and disinfection procedures.
•Tableside food preparation and presentation of foods, such as food selection carts and tableside guacamole are prohibited.
•No community containers of after-meal mints, candies, snacks, or toothpicks for customers.
•No shared entertainment items such as board games, arcade games or vending machines.
•Leftover food must be packaged by the customer for takeout.
We have been keeping Carlsbad businesses updated on these anticipated changes and provided all the guidelines for safe reopening. Hopefully this gave them a head start so they can reopen just as soon as possible.
Face coverings
Hopefully by now you have seen the black light demonstrations on the news or social media. If you haven’t, I encourage you to look them up. The basic premise is that someone puts a substance on their hands and then goes about their normal business. After interacting with several people, they turn out the lights so you can see all the areas that have become “infected” with the light-sensitive substance. It’s eye opening to say the least. Even more dramatic are the ones where a CPR-like dummy “coughs” in front of other people. Little droplets can be seen everywhere, on all surfaces and even on other people’s faces!
I mention this because now that things are reopening, I don’t want us to get complacent. The reason we are able to reopen more businesses and public spaces is because we have seen good results from all the health precautions. It’s more important than ever to continue to follow all of these precautions:
•Have a face covering with you when you leave home.
•Wear a face covering when you enter a business.
•Wear your face covering whenever you cannot maintain a 6-foot distance from people not in your household.
•No gatherings.
•Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds often throughout the day.
•Do not touch your face.
•If you have any symptoms at all, please stay home.
Your continued vigilance will help ensure our local businesses can reopen successfully and stay that way!
Parks update
I am happy to report that we saw great compliance with the restrictions still in place for active park uses yesterday. By evening, our tennis courts were filling up, and families were enjoying shooting hoops once again. As a reminder, here is what is now open:
•Tennis
•Pickleball (every other court will remain closed)
•Basketball (full courts only)
•Ballfields (soccer, baseball, etc.)
•Dog parks
•Skate parks
The following will remain closed for now:
•Playgrounds
•Pools
The same health precautions are in effect:
•No gathering except for people you live with.
•Bring a face covering when you leave home; put it on if you can’t maintain a 6-foot distance from others.
Beach update
In case you missed my special afternoon edition of this update yesterday, I will share the information here too. On Tuesday the City Council directed staff to bring an item back to a meeting the week of June 1 so restrictions on beach parking could be revisited. I’d said yesterday the timing was to be determined.
As a reminder, the current county health order prohibits sitting and relaxing on the sand, and it prohibits beach parking. Once the county updates its health order, cities can follow suit. We don’t know when the county’s health order will be updated, but county officials said at yesterday’s news conference that beach parking would remain closed through the Memorial Day weekend.
I am very sorry for this confusion, especially on a topic that is so important to so many people.
Stage Three pilot program
Even though the governor approved the county’s application to proceed further into stage two of opening, the pilot proposal to move into stage three is still pending. This is the one that would allow personal care services like hair and nail salons, as well as gyms. The governor signaled last week that the state could be ready to move into stage three sometime in June. So, either way, these changes are coming. Just not yet.
Latest case numbers
Case data will no doubt face more scrutiny in the coming days and weeks to see how the gradual reopening is affecting COVID-19 spread. For now, trends continue to be headed in the right direction, but new losses of life almost every day are a grim reminder of what is at stake.
Yesterday marked the single highest number of tests that have occurred in a single day in San Diego County
•4,802 new tests, 2% positive rate
•14-day rolling average is 3.6% (criteria for reopening was 8%)
•114 new cases reported yesterday for a new total of 6,140
•Sadly, eight new deaths were reported yesterday. There are now 230 total COVID-19 deaths, which represent 4% of the total reported cases
Carlsbad’s case numbers remain at 71 for the fourth day in a row.
