Monday, May 04, 2020

CoViD-19: California To Roll Into Phase 2 Openings Starting Friday | County Expands Testing | Some Thoughts On Golf

Someone's Got A Case of the Mondays
Man, it is so hard to watch the daily briefings and NOT look at the comments. Ug. And then I couldn't resist a comment, not directed at any one person mind you, but still got grief over it and now I'm stewing on it and super annoyed at myself for having commented in the first place. Whatever. It was a good day otherwise.
Tim Burgess of the Charlatans UK (the first concert I ever went to) has been doing "Tim's Twitter Listening Party" for a decade and the concept is that everyone starts a designated record at the same time and then the artists and fans chime in and comment as the record plays on, listening together apart. So this morning kicked off with James "Living In Extraordinary Times" and then went right into Starsailor's "love is here" so that was kinda fun.
I watched all the briefs today but it was both a big news and no news day because while we're going to start rolling into "phase two" of reopening, there are a lot of guidelines that need to be worked out before Friday, and neither the governor nor any of the local politicians will be specific about punishment or penalties for non-compliance, besides to say that 80 bars that had stayed open were threatened with losing their ABC licenses permanently. We spent more time in the yard, our butterfly returned for a little visit, we played some more yard sports and made cheeseburgers and hand-cut fries for dinner.
A very simple but satisfying day.


  • Today California Governor Newsom and Dr. Angell (around the 30 minute mark) announced a statewide movement into "Phase 2" reopening of the state starting on Friday, May 8. It will be "measured and thoughtful" only include specific industries: 
    • Expanded retail with curbside pickup
    • Associated manufacturing and supply chains
    • Includes bookstores, clothing stores, florists, sporting goods
    • With modifications- workers and customers will be safe
    • Guidance will be issued on Thursday for more specifics
    • Not included:
      • Offices 
      • Shopping malls
      • Seating in restaurants
      • These will be will be part of Phase 2, but not yet. (so think of it like Phase 2A and 2B)
    • Counties can move through Stage 2, but must meet readiness criteria
    • Readiness Plans must be submitted by counties
    • State will make county plans available online for the public
  • San Diego County:
    • 3 New Testing Sites Opening 5.5.2020 (Grossmont College, Sears Building in Chula Vista Center, North Inland Live Well Center)
    • Must make an appointment
    • Expect some hiccups
    • Expect to see increase in hospitalizations in statistics as people start going for non-Covid reasons and elective surgeries and treatments resume.
  • Large concerts are not coming back until Phase 4 (though fingers crossed that smaller venues may be included in Phase 3 along. Amsterdam has plans for a 9/1 opening)
  • While we're all anxiously awaiting things reopening, it's critical to remember that it really doesn't matter what we want or what the covidiot-in-chief tells us, the science here matters. We have a huge country with a huge population, but that doesn't mean that our statistics are any less shocking. There is already speculation that states are intentionally underreporting and testing is still inadequate. 
  • My comment during the City briefing had to do with golfing. I like golf. I'm actually pretty good at it for how few times I've actually played on real courses. I think it's really fun. When I was around 12 I got a hole in one on the mini-course in Old Town. But I also think that golf is bullshit. According to one of the recent briefings, there are 73 golf courses in San Diego (that number varies up to 90, depending on where you look,) a county made up of cities that have desperate homelessness, a lack of housing, and a lack of community open spaces and parks. As a reporter asked about clarification for the golf cart policy, I commented "All 73 golf courses in the county should've been turned into public parks and golf canceled forever" to which someone (an acquaintance's wife, actually) "Let people enjoy things." I'm certainly not changing public opinion or land use by my little comment. But I'm certainly not the first or only person who thinks golf is problematic in modern society from a social justice standpoint, from a climate standpoint, and from a better ways to use the space of which less than 9% of the population actually uses standpoint. But I assure you, golf isn't going anywhere any time soon, whether I like it or not.  
Posted by Rosemary Bystrak at Monday, May 04, 2020
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