What does it take to get people to pay attention? The Pandemic is not going away.
Never mind the danger of Covid-19 San Francisco was ready to open the gates and let business resume as if the Pandemic never existed.
I guess ignorance is bliss on your way to Ventilator City.
It’s too bad that businesses cannot open while Shelter in Place is strongly enforced and obeyed. It’s the party people who are causing the Pandemic to stay at high levels.
Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle 6.26.2020
San Francisco officials said Friday that the city was delaying plans to allow certain businesses — including hair salons, museums and outdoor bars — to reopen Monday following a spate of new COVID-19 cases.
Earlier this week, the city announced plans to accelerate the reopening of the city’s economy by several weeks, citing favorable health data around new cases and hospitalizations.
Now, hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, tattoo parlors, museums, zoos, bars with outdoor seating and outdoor swimming facilities will have to remain shuttered on Monday, much to the disappointment of business owners who scrambled to prepare to serve customers again after being mothballed for months because of the pandemic.
San Francisco is not alone in its decision to slow down or pull back on its reopening plans. The number of new COVID-19 cases is surging in several states, including Texas, Arizona, South Carolina and Florida, as governments desperate to reopen their economies have allowed businesses to reopen and people to move about more freely. As the coronavirus tears through communities, city, county and state officials across the country have been forced to pull back or pause reopening efforts.
A rash of new cases in San Francisco —103 in total — were reported Friday, raising concerns among city leaders and public health officials that a major outbreak could be on the horizon. Speeding up the reopening was always contingent upon the number of new cases and hospitalizations remaining low. The 103 new cases do not represent a one-day jump, but rather an accumulation of cases logged over the last few days that were reported at the same time.
After the delay in Monday’s reopening plan was announced, vexation was mixed with disappointment among some San Francisco businesses Friday.
“It’s frustrating. It feels like the health department can’t make up its mind,” said Paul Miller, owner of the Royal Cuckoo bar in Bernal Heights. Miller had spent much of the week buying furniture for outdoor seating, ordering drink ingredients and scrubbing the whole place from top to bottom — no small feat, since the bar had sat empty since San Francisco’s shelter-in-place began in March.
Yen Tuyet Le was ready for Monday’s opening. After three months begin closed, she was excited to reopen her nail salon, Paua Beauty Lounge on Powell Street. She installed plastic dividers on manicure tables, stocked up on masks and gloves, and retrained her staff on sterilizing nail service equipment. She had social distancing notices all over her Russian Hill salon and planned to require clients to wear masks at all times. She was even going to offer complimentary manicures to San Francisco nurses.
“It’s disappointing, but I understand that the health of the community is important,” Le said. “I just don’t know how I’m supposed to stay in business.”
Le remains worried about the pandemic’s economic toll, saying she hasn’t paid rent because there’s “no business” but is hopeful that communication with her landlord might provide for an alternative payment plan.
She applied for federal aid and received a small amount of money, but nowhere near what she needs to sustain her business and keep her employees, she said.
“It’s terrible when you have to undo everything again. Instead of going after businesses, why not go after people who are going to beaches and parks without masks?”
Lee's Perspective 