Tuesday, June 30, 2020

CoViD-19: County of San Diego Creates Restaurant Curfew | Beaches to Remain Open | Eviction Moratorium Extended

A Mandrill at San Diego Zoo (Taken 6.28.2020)

I had a bit of a crisis today when my laptop charger stopped working. Darren zipped off to Fry's to get me a replacement (which was not cheap) only to find that it didn't fit, but then suddenly my originally charger started working again. I'm not sure what's going on with it, but hopefully it was just an anomaly and we can just take the new one back. I didn't listen to the governor today, and only part of the county briefing, but I think I've got the gist below. I'm pretty wiped out today. After doing Monday's blog, we took Nova to soccer and went to La Jolla Cove during the practice, then after stopped along Mission Bay, and then Darren and I had a late night in the speakeasy. The big takeaways today are that beside the bar closure from yesterday, restaurants and businesses that do serve food or have partnered with food service must close from 10pm-5am, though technically the public health order allows for reservations up until 10pm but the spaces must be completely closed by 11pm. The County also noted that beaches would not be closed for 4th of July weekend, though individual jurisdictions may choose that for themselves. According to Nathan Fletcher, San Diego is using data to make decisions and as of now, there have been no outbreaks attributed to any outdoor activities. That doesn't mean they're *no* risk, but so far seem to be *low* risk. Apparently the Governor is making new restriction announcements on Wednesday, so as I said last night, hang on to your mask, things are still going from bad to worse. If you're looking for something new to watch, Homemade on Netflix is pretty great and each "episode" is a short-film by acclaimed filmmakers produced during the pandemic amid stay-at-home orders. They can be watched in any order, but number 3 hit me in all the feels. It's called "The Lucky Ones," by Rachel Morrison. Anyway, news after the jump. 

  • Covid-19:
  • County of San Diego Media Briefing: 
    • Currently at 10 community outbreaks
    • County has added a restaurant curfew: Section 13 of the County Health Order: Restaurants, Bars, Wineries, Distilleries, Breweries that serve food shall be closed from 10pm-5am 
    • Amending closure of breweries to say that places that have 'partnered' with food service may remain open, but are still subject to curfew
      • COVID-19 Temporary Catering Authorization (Expansion)
        What constitutes a bona fide meal? A bona fide meal is a usual assortment of foods commonly ordered at various hours of the day, that would be considered a legitimate meal; the service of prepackaged food like sandwiches or salads, or simply heating frozen or prepared meals, shall not be deemed compliant with a bona fide meal requirement. (This is based on Business and Professions Code Section 23038). As referenced in the Fifth Notice of Regulatory Relief, the Department will allow licensees to sell pre-poured or pre-mixed alcoholic beverages for consumption off the licensed premises (“to-go” drinks) only in conjunction with bona fide meals prepared on the licensed premises or under an agreement with business that do offer meals (“meal provider”). While there is no requirement that every sale of an alcoholic beverage must be in conjunction with a sale of food as required with to-go or delivery orders, alcoholic beverages should not be provided to a customer who is not partaking in the meal service on the premises.
    • Winery, Distillery, Bar, are still allowed to partner with food service so long as food and alcohol are part of a single purchase 
    • Bar closure is not applicable to outdoor service of wine
    • Hospital Association: Strongly support health orders but no plans to halt elective procedures
    • Urging public and businesses to be self-disciplined
    • Enforcement/Penalties: We expect businesses to cooperate, Business Associations should help, fines and/or misdemeanor fines up to $1k for non-compliance
    • More than half the county's test sites are in South County with 2 new sites opening soon
    • Law enforcement: We have a lot of regulation and laws, they just need to be enforced. Prefer education over citation, but people should be reporting violations to County and law enforcement
    • Sources report that San Diego is 4th lowest in tests by county in the state: Countered: highest performing urban counties 
    • Hospitalizations almost at 500 (highest number since pandemic started)
    • Elective surgeries are not on the table to be cut. Hospitals main concern with elective surgeries is with effective use of PPE, ICU, and Hospital beds, and for now, those are not threatened 
    • Protests of any kind have not resulted in any 'community outbreaks'. 29 people  who attended protests of any kind have tested positive. No community outbreaks. 
  • Covid-19 Relief
    There's a lot of Covid-19 news today with regards to benefits and programs. 
    • City of San Diego City Council narrowly passed an eviction moratorium extension through September. Read an NBC article about it. (5-4) 
    • Senate passes extension of Paycheck Protection Program until August 8, hours ahead of deadline - CNN (6.30.2020)
    • California EDD Pandemic $600 will end July 26 because it only covers full weeks and California is on a Mon-Sun schedule. Dems are still aggressively pushing for an extension through January. The Heroes Act passed the House but of course fuckface Mitch is holding it up at the Senate CBS News (6.30.2020)
    • People should definitely apply for CalFresh if you're lower income, or if you're getting EDD and that $600 benefit ends, apply on July 27. 
  • I'm posting this because I read a Twitter thread about it and it affected me deeply. I don't know what the right thing is here, but it definitely creates some philosophical and ethical questions and also says a ton about our failed health care system. 
    Austin Hospital Withheld Treatment from Disabled Man Who Contracted Coronavirus - The Texan (6.29.2020)
  • I forgot that I wanted to play Pandemic Predictions! What do you think Governor Newsom will announce on Wednesday?? (My guesses below)
    • No fireworks for 4th of July statewide
    • Closing of State Parks and Beaches for 4th of July weekend
    • 14 day quarantine for anyone on an inbound flight
    • Statewide bar closure
    • No new reopenings through month of July 

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