ARTICLE
The Recovery Road Ahead The Road Not Taken When I was in high school decades ago, my English teacher required us to select three or four poems to recite to the class. It was a practical experience to learn how to speak in front of an audience and to carefully share the poet’s words of wisdom. One of my selections was The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. The first two stanzas begin: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,” On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that Santa Cruz County was one of five counties moving up the four color coded state’s COVID-19 Blueprint for a Safer Economy. What does this new system translate for your company? As Sentinel reporter, Nick Ibarra states: The changes came Tuesday as the county moved to a lower-risk tier in the state’s color-coded system. Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Amador, Orange, and Placer counties each moved from the purple tier (substantial) to red (widespread), based on improving case metrics. Under the four-color system, purple represents the highest risk of the spread of the disease, followed by red, orange and, finally, yellow. You can read the full article here: Sentinel Report Nick Ibarra -Santa Cruz County Moves from Purple to Red Moving into the red tier allows numerous local establishments to resume indoor operations, at least in some form. Most are subject to 25% capacity limit, with gyms limited to 10%. Already permitted to open indoors with limits, retailers and malls can allow in twice as many patrons inside — up to 50% capacity. Non-essential offices must stay closed, however, along with bars and breweries not serving food. Wineries continue to be limited to outdoor service only. Venues and events attracting large crowds, such as concerts and festivals, remain prohibited. There will still be some confusion as to where your business fits into the new system. The best explanation is to follow the https://covid19.ca.gove/safer-economy/. Select a County: Santa Cruz County Select the industry sector, example: Gyms & Fitness Centers Scroll down to Santa Cruz County. It provides a short description of the restrictions: Gyms and Fitness Centers - Can Open with modifications — Max 10% of capacity. See guidance for Gyms and fitness centers Clicking on the link gives a more detail explanation of the modification allowed. This new system is more ‘user-friendly’ and provides a better road map to recovery. Is it perfect? No. Is there a possibility that we will slip back to Purple after the long Labor Day weekend and the wildfire evacuations forcing people into evacuation centers and family homes? It is possible. State data lists the county’s most recent case rate at 5.3 per 100,000 residents, with a testing positivity rate of 3.8%. Cases considered active and hospitalizations also saw recent declines. “All of those are really good signs for our community,” Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said Tuesday. But in the wake of mass evacuations prompted by the CZU August Lightning Complex fire, Newel warned that the trend may be on the verge of reversing. Calling the improved case rate a “brief little sweet spot,” she predicted cases may again trend upward starting this week. Because of a lag built into the state’s data, she predicted the county will remain in the red tier for at least two weeks, however. So what does this mean for Santa Cruz County businesses, our employees, customers and the community? Short translation: If we continue to practice due diligence, wear a mask in public, practice social distancing, follow state guidelines and use common sense, we should be able to maintain our Red tier status. We know this is a long road to full recovery and it will take patience, integrity and a “stay the course mind-set” before we see a brighter horizon, which brings me back to Robert Frost’s poem. “And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.” “I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” As we prepare our business recovery roadmap, let’s take the road of caution and safety. It is probably the Road Not Taken, and yes, it can make all the difference. Be Calm, Stay Safe and Buy Local
The Recovery Road Ahead The Road Not Taken
When I was in high school decades ago, my English teacher required us to select three or four poems to recite to the class. It was a practical experience to learn how to speak in front of an audience and to carefully share the poet’s words of wisdom. One of my selections was The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.
The first two stanzas begin:
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,”
On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that Santa Cruz County was one of five counties moving up the four color coded state’s COVID-19 Blueprint for a Safer Economy. What does this new system translate for your company?
As Sentinel reporter, Nick Ibarra states: The changes came Tuesday as the county moved to a lower-risk tier in the state’s color-coded system. Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Amador, Orange, and Placer counties each moved from the purple tier (substantial) to red (widespread), based on improving case metrics. Under the four-color system, purple represents the highest risk of the spread of the disease, followed by red, orange and, finally, yellow.
You can read the full article here: Sentinel Report Nick Ibarra -Santa Cruz County Moves from Purple to Red
Moving into the red tier allows numerous local establishments to resume indoor operations, at least in some form. Most are subject to 25% capacity limit, with gyms limited to 10%. Already permitted to open indoors with limits, retailers and malls can allow in twice as many patrons inside — up to 50% capacity. Non-essential offices must stay closed, however, along with bars and breweries not serving food. Wineries continue to be limited to outdoor service only. Venues and events attracting large crowds, such as concerts and festivals, remain prohibited.
There will still be some confusion as to where your business fits into the new system. The best explanation is to follow the https://covid19.ca.gove/safer-economy/.
Clicking on the link gives a more detail explanation of the modification allowed.
This new system is more ‘user-friendly’ and provides a better road map to recovery. Is it perfect? No. Is there a possibility that we will slip back to Purple after the long Labor Day weekend and the wildfire evacuations forcing people into evacuation centers and family homes? It is possible. State data lists the county’s most recent case rate at 5.3 per 100,000 residents, with a testing positivity rate of 3.8%. Cases considered active and hospitalizations also saw recent declines. “All of those are really good signs for our community,” Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said Tuesday.
But in the wake of mass evacuations prompted by the CZU August Lightning Complex fire, Newel warned that the trend may be on the verge of reversing. Calling the improved case rate a “brief little sweet spot,” she predicted cases may again trend upward starting this week. Because of a lag built into the state’s data, she predicted the county will remain in the red tier for at least two weeks, however.
So what does this mean for Santa Cruz County businesses, our employees, customers and the community? Short translation: If we continue to practice due diligence, wear a mask in public, practice social distancing, follow state guidelines and use common sense, we should be able to maintain our Red tier status. We know this is a long road to full recovery and it will take patience, integrity and a “stay the course mind-set” before we see a brighter horizon, which brings me back to Robert Frost’s poem.
“And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.”
“I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”
As we prepare our business recovery roadmap, let’s take the road of caution and safety. It is probably the Road Not Taken, and yes, it can make all the difference.
Be Calm, Stay Safe and Buy Local