What we have on our well-sanitized hands these days is the intersection of a health crisis and an economic crisis. I am very thankful for the work of the business people who have dutifully served on the business subcommittee in an effort to strongly encourage the County of Shasta to accelerate the process of reopening businesses.
Late last week we were given a glimmer of hope when we heard that businesses would now be classified according to the level of transmission risk they pose to customers and employees, not in terms of essential and nonessential.
We on the subcommittee believe that it would be reasonable, given the low number of active cases in Shasta County, to “live out” the guiding principles laid out by Shasta County Health Officer, Karen Ramstrom, to reopen as many business types as possible as soon as possible by qualifying them as “low risk”.
Guiding Principles:
1) Continue to protect vulnerable populations.
2) Implement best practices (social distancing, wearing masks, etc.)
3) Choose a metric as a basis to tighten/loosen restrictions (cases, hospitalizations, etc.)
I have not seen local law enforcement forcibly shut down non-compliant businesses. Let’s face it, unless the business is overseen by a state agency such as the Alcohol Beverage Control, we will likely continue to see businesses continue to open up in spite of current orders from Governor Newsom. If we believe that to be the case, then the best thing we can do is continue to educate and equip the business community to reopen safely.
Here is a helpful link to a “Business Toolkit” designed to assist business people as they prepare to reopen: CLICK HERE.
No one wants to contribute to the loss of life in our community. Unfortunately, we face a difficult predicament in which the answers lack the perfection we so wish we could achieve. As the temperature heats up this week we are reminded that summer is right around the corner. Here’s hoping that just as other viruses struggle to survive in hot weather, COVID-19 will also perish in the “lake weather” we have come to expect in the coming months.
If you have thoughts you would like to share on the reopening of businesses in Shasta County, including helpful documents or links you have found, please send them to me and I will pass them along to county health officials.
Finally, Happy Birthday to Willie Mays, the Hall of Fame Center Fielder of the San Francisco Giants. I only wish we could be celebrating with him and 40,000 others at Oracle Park.
