Staying the course
As public health officials and other leaders have stressed repeatedly in recent days, getting off the list isn’t the goal – staying off the list is the goal.
I have to admit, when things began to open back up in June, I was excited. It wasn’t just because I wanted to get back to some kind of normal routine. I had also seen the devastating effect the shutdowns had on our local businesses and their employees. And I missed the usual signs of Carlsbad’s unique sense of community – people stopping by the farmer’s market for fresh produce, waving to friends on the sea wall, letting kids enjoy summer camp.
Unfortunately, we quickly saw a resurgence of cases, and restrictions were put back in place. The silver lining in all of this is that we can now be more sure than ever that it is possible to slow the spread. Wearing masks works. Avoiding crowds works. Quickly identifying and isolating people who are contagious works. And, as doctors learn more about the virus, they have been able to fine tune their prevention recommendations and improve treatment methods. Remember, this is a novel virus – new and different. This time last year no one had heard of it. This time last year we were gathering on Friday nights in the thousands to enjoy TGIF Concerts in the Parks.
So, all things considered, it’s not that hard to believe it took a minute for people to adjust their behaviors, like wearing face coverings. It’s understandable that people were eager to finally get together with friends and extended family. We are all adapting and learning, and we are getting better at it.
What’s next?
As eager as I am to hear word that the state is going to allow some easing of the public health restrictions, I get why it hasn’t been immediate. I know the weight I feel over decisions affecting our hundreds of city employees, let alone those affecting our more than 100,000 residents. I can only imagine what it’s like to feel that sense of responsibility on a countywide or even statewide basis. No one wants to see an explosion of new cases nor a repeat cycle of opening and closing.
Yesterday the state announced it would circulate a reopening plan to county health officers for feedback over the weekend and make some plans public next week. Officials said it would likely include a more measured approach, with a small number of things opening, followed by a period of time to monitor the results. The governor said the reason for the staging is to better identify types of activities that could be causing cases to increase.
For the sake of our local businesses, students returning to a new school year and everyone suffering from the effects of the shutdowns, I hope we get the green light soon. I also hope our community understands that the very best way to make this happen as quickly as possible is to maintain their vigilance in efforts to reduce the spread.
More relief coming
On Tuesday the City Council received the latest update from staff on the city’s COVID-19 response efforts. The City Council voted to bring a few items back for consideration:
- A shop local gift card program that helps local businesses
- A “fee holiday” for certain permits to give businesses more options to move outdoors
- Allowing businesses at the Shoppes at Carlsbad to operate in the parking lot
In case you’re wondering why the City Council didn’t make decisions about these ideas on Tuesday, I can explain. The City Council may only discuss items that have been included on the agenda. This is part of a state law designed to ensure the public has ample notice about items of interest and an opportunity to learn about them and provide comments. This is why you’ll often hear the City Council direct staff to “return” with an agenda item on a certain topic. City staff with expertise in that topic prepare a report that has background information, details, pros and cons, and other analysis. That staff report comes out with the agenda at least 72 hours before the meeting (we typically get the agendas out even further in advance).
A few specific items related to COVID-19 that were on the agenda included some updates to our microloan program for small businesses and approving additional funding for printing and sign production for our Stay Safe Stay Open campaign. For example, we are providing local hotels with signs, handouts and other materials letting their guests know about mask rules and other health precautions while they’re visiting our city.
Latest COVID-19 case information
The county has reported three new COVID-19 cases in Carlsbad since my Tuesday update, for a new total of 557. We estimate 35 of those cases are active.
The county is reporting 416 new cases during that same time period for a new total of 35,376.
The 14-day average percentage of positive cases based on total tests completed is 4.0%. This number continues to go down, which is good news. The target is less than 8%.
The county is reporting 15 new community outbreaks in the past seven days. Fifteen is much lower than that number has been in recent weeks, but still more than double the target of seven. The top three settings for community outbreaks for June and July were restaurants (63 outbreaks) and restaurant/bar combos (51 outbreaks) and health care settings (19 outbreaks).
Saving water and energy
I hope you have not been affected by rolling power outages due to the extreme heat we’ve been experiencing all week. If you have, our utilities staff asked me to remind you to check your irrigation timers. Sometimes, when the power goes out, you lose all the settings and could inadvertently be over watering your landscaping. If you can’t remember exactly how to set the irrigation timer, these days if you search online you can easily find the original user manual (even for older systems) and YouTube tutorials.
You can also sign up for a free WaterSmart checkup, which will provide you with site-specific water-saving recommendations including assistance with irrigation timers. For more information, please visit www.watersmartcheckup.org.
Speaking of the heat, SDG&E is still asking everyone to conserve energy. This includes reducing water use since water systems require a lot of energy to pump water from hundreds of miles away to your tap.
Fire update
In addition to the energy emergency, the governor has declared a fire emergency in the state. As of yesterday, firefighters are battling 367 known wildfires statewide — 23 of them considered major. Lightning is the main cause – with more than 10,800 lightning strikes this week alone so far.
Most of the attention right now is focused on the Bay Area, however firefighting is an all hands on deck situation. We regularly send strike teams to other parts of the state to help, and they come to us when needed too.
You can get more information on status of these fires on the CalFire website. Please also take a quick look to make sure you and your families are ready for a fire or other emergency. The Ready San Diego website is a great place to start.
