Now a full week has passed since California’s “reopening,” with more and more signs pointing to a return to business as usual. Yesterday city staff provided the last of our regular City Council updates on the city’s COVID-19 response. The county held its last regular COVID-19 news conference last week and is now updating its COVID case data weekly instead of daily.
We have already reopened city offices to in-person services and expanded hours at our libraries. On July 6 we will reopen the Senior Center, including the dining room, where community members can once again enjoy each other’s company over a healthy hot meal. This significant milestone comes as city staff delivered the 60,000th “to go” meal in the Senior Center parking lot, something we started at the very beginning of the pandemic.
You might have seen some of the photos and video we have shared over the past year of staff dressing up with different themes on different days of the week and generally making this drive-through program a memorable part of everyone’s day (employees and seniors alike!). This is just one of many examples of the caring and creative ways city employees adapted during the pandemic.
We also shared so many stories of community members helping each other and finding ways to cope with stay-at-home orders and missing friends and family members.
As eager as we all are to get on with post-pandemic life, I don’t want to forget these moments or take them for granted. No one wanted to go through the past 15 months, but as it gets smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror, it becomes easier to find some of the good things to come from it. Let’s hold on to these examples of caring and connection and bring them along with us into this next chapter, whatever that might be.
Okay, yes, I guess I am finally processing my own reactions to the events of the pandemic, and I suspect we will all be doing some form of that for a while to come. If you feel like sharing, I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations – how we can take what we’ve been through and make it something positive for the future of Carlsbad? How can we stay connected to neighbors we might have only met for the first time last year? What can the city do to make sure you continue to feel informed about things that matter to you and affect your daily life in Carlsbad? Email me anytime at manager@carlsbadca.gov.
In-person meetings resume
Yesterday the City Council decided to resume in person City Council meetings and return to the 6 p.m. start time, beginning July 13. The monthly City Council workshops will continue to be virtual through the end of September. This was a compromise to accommodate those in our community to like the option of participating without having to drive to City Hall. The state executive order that allows virtual City Council meetings expires Sept. 30.
We will provide more information about the resumption of other in-person meetings as we get those details worked out.
Mask update
As of last Tuesday, new state rules went into effect that allow vaccinated people to go without masks in most settings. Workplace rules were up in the air until last Thursday when the state decided to follow suit. The CDC put out its guidance several weeks ago, leading some to believe they could ditch their masks sooner.
So, it’s understandable that mask-wearing continues to be an area of some confusion. We have heard from a few of you wondering why we require masks still in city facilities. The short answer is that the state’s workplace rules, which were only finalized at the end of last week, included some requirements for employers that are taking a week or so to put in place. During this time, to comply with the state’s regulations, we need to require everyone to wear a mask indoors in most circumstances. This will change next Tuesday, when vaccinated people will no longer need to mask up.
I appreciate your patience with this. As a city, we need to follow the letter of the law and have all the proper policies, protocols and procedures in place.
Vaccination update
The County of San Diego has exceeded its goal for the percentage of the population getting a single shot and is close to the goal it set for those fully vaccinated.
