SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diego County will almost certainly end up on the state’s “watch list” Friday after three straight days of increasing coronavirus cases.
If the trend continues for three additional days, then the state could impose additional restrictions.
California set a threshold of 100 cases for every 100,000 residents over a 14-day period. If a county exceeds it for three days, then it can be placed on the list.
San Diego exceeded the threshold on June 30 and continued to exceed it daily through July 2. On July 3, San Diego is expected to become the 20th county on the list. Unlike other Southern California counties, the late addition means restaurants can remain open for indoor dine-in service during the holiday weekend since restrictions won’t be imposed until Monday, after spending three days on the list.
If the numbers don’t change, then on July 6, the state will suspend:
-Indoor dine-in eating
-movie theaters
-indoor entertainment centers
-Zoos, museums and cardrooms
Bars that do not serve food will be formally shuttered by the state, but they were already ordered to close this week by the county’s public health officer.
The restrictions will last for at least three weeks and then reassessed.
Just a week earlier, the county Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to request guidance from the governor on re-opening more businesses. However, even if the guidance was received, it still required the health officer’s approval to put it into practice.
“It's better to have them, in my mind, in-hand as opposed to waiting another two weeks or three weeks or something for the guidelines and then if and when we meet them, then we can open them sooner rather than later,” explained Desmond, who supported the request.
Is it a foregone conclusion that the restrictions are coming?
Health officials said the data is trending that way, but things can change over the next few days. They only occur after three consecutive days of case numbers that exceed the state threshold while on the watch list.
What time could the restrictions go into place on Monday?
It depends when the decision is made by the state. In Los Angeles County, the health officer modified the order and immediately went into effect. In Sacramento, it went into effect at 3 p.m. the day the changes were announced.
July 2 is the third day of San Diego being flagged, but it won’t get added to the watch list until July 3.
Are beaches open?
The beaches are open countywide, but parking may be a challenge. California Department of Parks and Recreation ordered parking lots at state beaches in San Diego County to close.
Coastal mayors have the right to close beaches and parking lots. As of Thursday, none have closed their beaches and only Oceanside plans to close its parking lots for the holiday weekend.
How might the restriction on zoos affect the San Diego Zoo?
“The San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park are open this weekend. We are continuing to monitor the ongoing changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will follow the recommendations provided by our state and local health authorities,” the San Diego Zoo told News 8 in an emailed statement.