PE: Riverside County coronavirus health orders likely to be lifted [By Board of Supervisors]
pe.com/2020/04/30/proposal-aims-to-lift-river...
pe.comPosted May 1, 2020, 9:18 AM UTC
2722
pe.comThis is entirely too soon. Working for an essential business, the only thing keeping me sane is the fact that all customers and employee's alike are wearing facemasks and at least attempting social distancing, if we go back to normal literally next week, we will face the consequences. There's a reason why Newsom extended the stay at home order and closed public beaches.
29
Full article:
Public health orders mandating the use of face coverings and social distancing to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus in Riverside County, among other restrictions, could be lifted Tuesday, May 5, by the Board of Supervisors.
The agenda includes an item, sponsored by Supervisors Karen Spiegel and V. Manuel Perez, that would rescind the order issued earlier this month and extended on Wednesday, April 29, by Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser until June 19.
The proposal also calls for rescinding county orders that closed all schools until June 19, restricted short-term rentals to coronavirus-related business and placed restrictions on play at golf courses.
State public health orders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order issued March 19, would remain in effect.
By rescinding the county’s orders, supervisors want to put the county on par, regulation-wise, with the rest of California. Legally, the county can be more strict than the state, but not less stringent.
The county has been more strict than the state by requiring residents to cover their noses and mouths in public. Face coverings don’t have to be hospital grade, but Kaiser’s order was intended to prevent the airborne spread of virus-laden droplets spread by infected people.
Kaiser and county Director of Public Health Kim Saruwatari were unavailable for comment, according to county spokeswoman Brooke Federico.
In a memo to colleagues, Spiegel and Perez lauded the county’s progress in testing more than 50,000 for the virus, slowing the rate of infection so that it hasn’t overwhelmed county hospitals as well as the board’s formation of an economic recovery task force.
“We want people to be healthy, safe and have an income to support their families,” the memo read. “(Rescinding the orders) creates the pathway for our residents and businesses to meet these needs.”
In a news release, Perez praised Kaiser’s actions, which “have no doubt made a measurable impact in saving lives in our county.”
“His early and proactive leadership got us very far ahead as a county. That, combined with data and strong economic arguments, is why I have the confidence that it is appropriate to lift these measures while we continue to align ourselves with the state’s stay-at-home order and roadmap for reopening.”
Earlier Thursday, Supervisor Jeff Hewitt posted a letter on Facebook in which he called on the orders to be lifted. He wrote that he was “shocked and disappointed” to see Kaiser “continue a campaign of fear in such a way.”
“Over the course of the shutdown, thousands of businesses have closed their doors, many of which will never re-open,” Hewitt wrote. “Families have been separated from their loved ones, and hundreds of thousands of hard-working people have been forced to stay at home and not earn a living for their families.”
“I for one have had enough … I will not stand idly by and see (the county) consumed by fear.”
Reached via email, Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said he supports lifting the orders. Supervisor Chuck Washington was not available for comment Thursday evening.
During a Wednesday, April 29, news conference, Kaiser said face coverings and social distancing will be the “new normal” for the immediate future.
“COVID-19 has not been eliminated, and it’s arguable whether we can even say it’s been suppressed,” he said. “We expect sporadic outbreaks throughout the summer. And since there will still be virus in circulation, there is a decent chance that it will be back in the fall, and when it is, it will be very hard to get that genie back in the bottle.”
In a county news release issued Thursday evening about a possible decision to rescind county public health orders, the county noted that the state Department of Public Health and federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the use of face coverings, social distancing, and frequent hand washing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
As of Thursday, the county has 4,031 confirmed coronavirus cases and 149 deaths blamed on the virus. More than 50,000 in the county have been tested.
18
Of COURSE it’s sponsored by Karen lmao
20
I’m so tired of her.
4
Let me guess, the supervisors wanting to do a full rescind have an (R) next to their name? Gotta love when politicians override health officials.
At least they can’t override the state orders.
13
Spiegel & Jeffries are Republicans while Hewitt is a Libertarian. I believe Perez is a Democrat and I think Washington is too
3
Was sent this yesterday. IE will never change. I remember the hate for someone protesting BLM, but now they seem to love it.
So three Republicans then. I've read everything Hewitt has sent out. He's a Republican.
1
I'd go 'right-wing' instead of 'Republican', but yes
1
Social distancing and face coverings are all we got right now till quick and ubiquitous testing is happening. What the fuck are they doing?
17
Riverside county is the second highest county for Coronavirus cases in California. Why would we even consider this. Just the other day was our highest single day.
I’m so tired of these idiots and seeing my neighbors always having visitors over, even when they or their kids have a compromised immune system. They are also the ones posting they won’t take any vaccine because it will have a government tracking device. The other issue is how it will poison them. If they kiss trumps ass, wouldn’t they not be scared of a government tracking device?
Ohh and fuck that 5G crap they are putting up while we’re at it. No masks, No 5G.
Never been more frustrated then now.
10
Unpopular opinion here. I’m all for reopening slowly with safety precautions in place. The media has taken this whole thing and run with it. People are losing their livelihood, and others are losing their minds from the seclusion. Even hospitals are laying off staff because there aren’t enough patients to care for.
The whole point of sheltering in place was to not overwhelm the hospitals. Well we’ve done succeeded in that.
I feel that we have flattened the curve and as long as we are safe, and smart about it, we should slowly get back to business. We cannot live in fear forever, and a vaccine takes years to develop and properly test.
6†
I feel that we have flattened the curve
Flattening the curve is a statistic, not a feeling. For SB county, the number of cases are doubling every 10 days. That is an exponential curve...not a flat line. We haven't even peaked
12
The point of sheltering in place was to reduce infection rates. If they reopen we will se another wave of infected.
8
[deleted]
6
I have an honest question:
What difference does it make if we stay locked down for another week, month or year?
Either way, isn't the virus still going to exist? Like we can run from the covid, but we can't hide.
I feel like we're all going to be exposed to it no matter what we do. There are millions of us who have the antibodies without even knowing we had it.
As long as our healthcare system can handle it, maybe it's a good thing to go outside.
Am I wrong because I honestly don't know
4
The point is to stop the spread to people who have poor immunity. Elderly, people with preexisting conditions, etc.
I just feel rushing back out is a recipe for disaster. They can put out guidelines and tell people how to stay safe, but the IE is full of ignorant people. Right now we have less people out and about but I STILL see people not taking this seriously. No mask, group gatherings etc. once they lift the lockdown it will get worse and we’ll be put back on lockdown.
Also our healthcare providers do not know how to handle it. They tell people who have it to stay home and weather it out. There is a lot still unknown about the nature of the virus as there are multiple reports of different types of symptoms and people who have none all together.
Now waiting for a vaccine is probably not the best solutions as it takes developing one a long time. I do not know what the best course of action is.
5
[deleted]
1
The goal was to buy time to prevent a sudden overload of the system leading to a lack of medical resources that would kill people who would otherwise survive, as well as buying time to find a treatment, cure, or prevention (like a vaccine).
3
[deleted]
1
Might be unpopular but it's the most realistic opinion here.
4†
I'm pleasantly surprised that Riverside County is the first in the nation to figure out how to test thousands of people every day and safely implement contact tracing. I couldn't find the details in the article but I'm sure they're in there because it would be absolute idiocy to lift the health orders without having that in place.
Congratulations Riverside!
3
Does anyone have the information on the woman who wanted to be a human guinea pig for the COVID vaccine?
How is her health? Has she experienced any terrible side effects?
I think that if she’s doing well, she should be the poster child for receiving the vaccine. She would certainly be able to shut down the arguments for those against a vaccine.
2
We want people to be healthy, safe and have an income to support their families,” the memo read. “(Rescinding the orders) creates the pathway for our residents and businesses to meet these needs.”
Trillions to bail out banks and businesses, $1,200 for the people. If we reversed that, the banks and businesses would do just fine with whatever trickles up.
2
This is the part of the movie where they ignore the scientists and things go bad.