ARTICLE
Welcome Back California! Welcome back Santa Cruz County. The pent-up demand and eagerness of Californians to get back to a normal summer hit the Start Button on Tuesday, June 15. The headlines announcing California’s reopening had sounds of an opening day of Major League Baseball. There has certainly been a buzz about what to expect and what limitations on our freedoms will still be in place. The rules, the risk, the freedom: Everything you need to know about California reopening were the headlines in California news across the state -- Tuesday marked a new era for California: The State at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday rescinded most mask rules for vaccinated people and ended capacity limitations on businesses and venues. After more than a year of ever-changing stay-at-home rules, California’s highly anticipated reopening started on Tuesday — the date that, as Gov. Gavin Newsom has put it, the state will move “Beyond the Blueprint,” doing away with the color-coded system that has governed businesses, social gatherings, and masking habits to enter a post-pandemic world. “No more physical distancing, substantially modifying masking in the state of California, moving beyond these county tiers, the red, orange, purple, and increasingly yellow — and now looking forward to getting back to a semblance of normalcy without occupancy constraints,” Newsom said last week. On Monday afternoon, I listened to an hour-long press conference with our Santa Cruz County Public Health officers trying their best to unravel the cobweb of guidelines as we move “Beyond the Blueprint.” For more than 15 months, with statutory authority to take whatever “measures as may be necessary to prevent the spread of communicable diseases,” the unelected local health officers have wielded extraordinary power since the onset of COVID-19, issuing the nation’s first stay-in-place orders, shutting down whole economies, ordering residents to wear masks, and recommending nearly universal vaccination for adults. Now the COVID virus is turning to a new normal. The Reopening of California information is listed here: https://covid19.ca.gov/safely-reopening/. The new public health order effective June 15 supersedes all prior health orders. The order has limited restrictions, only related to masking and mega-events, as well as settings serving children and youth pending an expected update to the K-12 school’s guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Our masks are now off in the workplace, after a mandate that was in place since late February 2020. We have all been waiting for this day to come. The department has outlined the Dos and the Don’ts for daily life: Restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters, and most everyday places will be open as normal with no capacity limits or social distancing required. Protect yourself and others by keeping these common-sense rules in mind. Santa Cruz County Public Health Do and Don’t List This site is very helpful to underscore the significant progress we have overcome during the past 15 months. The story headlines in Wednesday’s statewide newspapers had a mixed ring of celebration and caution. California fully reopened Tuesday, and with that, residents who are fully vaccinated were able to go into many public places without masks, even indoors. Some did. But many others decided to keep their masks on. Governor Newsom continued his month-long VAX Up campaign announcing a new giveaway to encourage more Californians to get vaccinated — 50,000 free tickets to the state’s Six Flags amusement parks for those who get shots at nearby community clinics. On the local Santa Cruz County reopening scene, many businesses were busy as it appeared to be a typical Tuesday in June. Lookout Santa Cruz covered the reopening with this story headline, “Here comes ‘Super Tuesday’: Will we magically transport back to a 2019 existence on June 15?” https://lookout.co/santacruz/wallace-baine/the-here-now/story/2021-06-13/santa-cruz-covid-june-15-pandemic-coronavirus-masks. The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran this story headline, “Santa Cruz businesses display ‘cautious optimism’ as California reopens” https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2021/06/15/santa-cruz-businesses-display-cautious-optimism-as-california-reopens/. To every Santa Cruz County resident, every business (the employer and employees) and nonprofits, our schools, and our public sector leaders the past 15 months has been a ride on a silent roller coaster stuck at the top of the Boardwalk’s Giant Dipper just waiting for the conductor to pull the release brake and let us continue the ride. The reopening brought back the Santa Cruz County Chamber’s first in-person Business After Hours event since February 2020. We cautiously gathered poolside at Hotel Paradox (https://www.hotelparadox.com/) for an afternoon of conversation with new members and long-time members chatting about their COVID experience. Munching on delicious appetizers and beverages without masks seemed out of place in the early minutes of the evening affair. Slowly the laughter and smiling faces were on display as the discussion turned to looking forward to the coming summer plans. We were greeted with the sounds of soft soothing music playing in the background by Tropicalma, a newly formed group, as the warm weather was not the typical Santa Cruz “June Gloom” fog. Tuesday, June 15, 2021, was a special night for the Chamber as a feeling of joy and freedom was evident in the 50-plus members and guests in attendance. June 15 marks a new beginning. One final reminder — the virus is still out there and until we have reached herd immunity a word of caution prevails above all else. In closing as we move into the uncharted summer months one clear message stands firm, quoting Mark Twain, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Stay the course.
Welcome Back California! Welcome back Santa Cruz County. The pent-up demand and eagerness of Californians to get back to a normal summer hit the Start Button on Tuesday, June 15. The headlines announcing California’s reopening had sounds of an opening day of Major League Baseball. There has certainly been a buzz about what to expect and what limitations on our freedoms will still be in place.
The rules, the risk, the freedom: Everything you need to know about California reopening were the headlines in California news across the state -- Tuesday marked a new era for California: The State at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday rescinded most mask rules for vaccinated people and ended capacity limitations on businesses and venues. After more than a year of ever-changing stay-at-home rules, California’s highly anticipated reopening started on Tuesday — the date that, as Gov. Gavin Newsom has put it, the state will move “Beyond the Blueprint,” doing away with the color-coded system that has governed businesses, social gatherings, and masking habits to enter a post-pandemic world. “No more physical distancing, substantially modifying masking in the state of California, moving beyond these county tiers, the red, orange, purple, and increasingly yellow — and now looking forward to getting back to a semblance of normalcy without occupancy constraints,” Newsom said last week.
On Monday afternoon, I listened to an hour-long press conference with our Santa Cruz County Public Health officers trying their best to unravel the cobweb of guidelines as we move “Beyond the Blueprint.”
For more than 15 months, with statutory authority to take whatever “measures as may be necessary to prevent the spread of communicable diseases,” the unelected local health officers have wielded extraordinary power since the onset of COVID-19, issuing the nation’s first stay-in-place orders, shutting down whole economies, ordering residents to wear masks, and recommending nearly universal vaccination for adults. Now the COVID virus is turning to a new normal.
The Reopening of California information is listed here: https://covid19.ca.gov/safely-reopening/. The new public health order effective June 15 supersedes all prior health orders. The order has limited restrictions, only related to masking and mega-events, as well as settings serving children and youth pending an expected update to the K-12 school’s guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Our masks are now off in the workplace, after a mandate that was in place since late February 2020. We have all been waiting for this day to come. The department has outlined the Dos and the Don’ts for daily life:
Restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters, and most everyday places will be open as normal with no capacity limits or social distancing required. Protect yourself and others by keeping these common-sense rules in mind.
Santa Cruz County Public Health Do and Don’t List
This site is very helpful to underscore the significant progress we have overcome during the past 15 months. The story headlines in Wednesday’s statewide newspapers had a mixed ring of celebration and caution. California fully reopened Tuesday, and with that, residents who are fully vaccinated were able to go into many public places without masks, even indoors. Some did. But many others decided to keep their masks on. Governor Newsom continued his month-long VAX Up campaign announcing a new giveaway to encourage more Californians to get vaccinated — 50,000 free tickets to the state’s Six Flags amusement parks for those who get shots at nearby community clinics.
On the local Santa Cruz County reopening scene, many businesses were busy as it appeared to be a typical Tuesday in June. Lookout Santa Cruz covered the reopening with this story headline, “Here comes ‘Super Tuesday’: Will we magically transport back to a 2019 existence on June 15?” https://lookout.co/santacruz/wallace-baine/the-here-now/story/2021-06-13/santa-cruz-covid-june-15-pandemic-coronavirus-masks.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran this story headline, “Santa Cruz businesses display ‘cautious optimism’ as California reopens” https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2021/06/15/santa-cruz-businesses-display-cautious-optimism-as-california-reopens/.
To every Santa Cruz County resident, every business (the employer and employees) and nonprofits, our schools, and our public sector leaders the past 15 months has been a ride on a silent roller coaster stuck at the top of the Boardwalk’s Giant Dipper just waiting for the conductor to pull the release brake and let us continue the ride.
The reopening brought back the Santa Cruz County Chamber’s first in-person Business After Hours event since February 2020. We cautiously gathered poolside at Hotel Paradox (https://www.hotelparadox.com/) for an afternoon of conversation with new members and long-time members chatting about their COVID experience. Munching on delicious appetizers and beverages without masks seemed out of place in the early minutes of the evening affair. Slowly the laughter and smiling faces were on display as the discussion turned to looking forward to the coming summer plans. We were greeted with the sounds of soft soothing music playing in the background by Tropicalma, a newly formed group, as the warm weather was not the typical Santa Cruz “June Gloom” fog. Tuesday, June 15, 2021, was a special night for the Chamber as a feeling of joy and freedom was evident in the 50-plus members and guests in attendance. June 15 marks a new beginning. One final reminder — the virus is still out there and until we have reached herd immunity a word of caution prevails above all else. In closing as we move into the uncharted summer months one clear message stands firm, quoting Mark Twain, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Stay the course.