‘People don’t seem very scared up here’: Escaping to Tahoe amid rising COVID-19 cases
In May, all nonessential travel into the El Dorado County portion of the Lake Tahoe basin was banned as part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order and county regulations. When restrictions lifted several weeks ago, California vacationers returned to Lake Tahoe’s shores.
This weekend was no exception. Hundreds gathered Saturday at Camp Richardson beach. Some were closely abiding by physical distancing guidelines, others were flouting them. One thing was common among the tourists: Trying to regain some normalcy amid a pandemic.
Meanwhile, case counts are rising in El Dorado County. Officials have linked an alarming rise in coronavirus cases in the region to an influx of tourists and businesses not following mask and social distance regulations.
One Sacramento-turned-San Francisco based couple — Coutney Nash, 24, and Kevin Luther, 25 — said they wanted to escape the confines of the city for the weekend.
“It’s a change of scenery,” Nash said. “Nothing’s really open in San Francisco, so we have many more options here in terms of things to do.”
Luther and Nash both wore masks during their interview, and said they felt comfortable and adequately distant while relaxing and “enjoying the sun.”
“I feel super safe,” Luther said. “We’re just spending time with the people we live with, so it makes it super easy. Everybody’s been social distancing super well.”
‘We’re trying our best’
Others felt uneasy with tight-knit crowds gathering on the beach. Rachel Frey and her family of six wore masks and carved out a buffer between themselves and other beach-goers.
“I’m feeling a little uncomfortable. There’s a lot of people here,” Frey said. “And I’m struggling internally with what’s the most responsible safe choice and also trying to create some fun and normalcy for our family when we really need it.”
Frey works as a nurse manager at a community hospital in Monterey, and has been ‘up to her eyeballs’ in extra work brought on by coronavirus. She’s also been balancing homeschooling for her four children.
“It’s about trying to figure out what this balance is. How do we navigate through this time being to be as safe as we can, while also creating some joy for our family? I’m not sure that the choices we’re making are right, but we’re trying our best.”
Other beach goers weren’t worried by the crowds, though.
Benjamin Satterlee of Colfax enjoyed a drink outside of the Beacon Bar & Grill while visiting South Lake Tahoe with nine family members and friends. He said although the beach was crowded, he expected people not to visit if they weren’t feeling well.
“Everybody seems to be pretty healthy, so I don’t have a concern,” he said. “Everybody’s enjoying their freedom, as we should.”
Satterlee said he expected the beach to appear different, but very little had changed since summers past — apart from some people wearing masks.
“I’d be surprised if this was a different crowd than a year ago on the same day,” Satterlee said. “People don’t seem very scared up here, and that’s awesome.”
No fatalities ‘just plain lucky’
When informed of rising case counts, Satterlee said he would be more concerned if a death rate were spiking alongside it.
“As long as it’s not a deathly thing, and people aren’t dropping like flies — 99 percent of people are surviving — I’m not afraid of it.” Satterlee said.
But public health officials have stressed that a low death rate in the county shouldn’t prevent people from following precautions.
El Dorado County has so far avoided fatalities among its residents. In a Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday, public health officer Dr. Nancy Williams cited a variety of factors, like health care, a late arrival of the virus or that the community is ‘just plain lucky.’
“We don’t really know why we’re as being spared as we are. And I’m not confident enough to believe that we’ve hit on a magic formula that’s going to keep us in this enviable position of having zero deaths throughout this pandemic,” Williams said.
Tahoe cases dwarf rest of El Dorado County
But cases in Tahoe far outpace the rest of El Dorado County, making up nearly half of the county’s 307 cases while representing only 17 percent of the population. Just in the South Lake Tahoe region, the rate of confirmed cases per 100,000 people is now far beyond the state’s threshold for monitoring counties.
In the 95 days after the region’s first confirmed case, there were 75 total cases in the South Lake Tahoe area. But in the last 18 days, that number has nearly doubled: the current confirmed total now stands at 149.
Williams said it’s possible cases will rise higher after crowds gathered on the three-day Fourth of July weekend, due to the time it takes for most to develop to symptoms related to the virus.
Meanwhile, Frey the nurse reflected on Tahoe’s hospitals and pondered whether the region should close down beaches.
“We’re grateful to be here, and we want to respect the space and respect Tahoe,” she said, adding that given the area’s small hospital capacity, “I definitely would understand if Tahoe would make choices to close down the beaches.
“I’m kind of thinking that might be a good idea.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 4:57 PM with the headline "‘People don’t seem very scared up here’: Escaping to Tahoe amid rising COVID-19 cases."