‘Open really slowly.’ Stanislaus outlines next steps for businesses closed by coronavirus
As it starts a process of reopening the local economy after the coronavirus shutdown, Stanislaus County will allow dog grooming, drive-in movies and retail stores providing curbside pickup, starting on Friday.
County supervisors, who made the announcement at Tuesday’s board meeting, acknowledged many people will be disappointed by the meager reopening of commerce this week.
But a plan for unshackling more business sectors is promised for next week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, which could be a good sign for dine-in restaurants, hair salons and fitness centers.
Board Chairwoman Kristin Olsen said the county is shooting for a return to business operations with social distancing before May 19.
Modesto, Woodward reservoirs to open for boating
She added the county plans to open the Modesto Reservoir for boating and other watercraft activities May 16, with those same activities resuming at Woodward Reservoir near Oakdale on June 6.
Cats, like people, still won’t have access to grooming services on Friday. It turns out that cats can catch the illness.
Safe distancing rules for the small number of businesses that can open will be spelled out by county public health later Tuesday or Wednesday. Drive-in movies were included because the county has received inquiries about providing cinema under the stars.
After seven weeks of complying with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shutdown order, some merchants are desperate to resume trade. Supervisors said they’re also hearing from an equal number of residents who insist the county is moving too fast in allowing non-essential commerce to resume.
The coronavirus has killed 15 residents and spawned 428 confirmed cases in Stanislaus County, including 17 new cases in the last 24 hours, and it has proven to be highly contagious and dangerous to residents of nursing homes.
Newsom gave more flexibility for local jurisdictions to open business activities in an announcement Monday.
“What we are trying to do is open really slowly,” said Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, county health officer. It wouldn’t be good to open too fast, create a surge of illness and then have to shut things down again, she said.
Jody Hayes, county chief executive officer, said the plan to reopen is balanced with the realities of the pandemic, impacts on the community and advice of health experts.
Mentioning the eight patients of Turlock Nursing and Rehabilitation Center who have died, Hayes said the outbreak remains a threat, and the risk will continue through the summer and until a vaccine is developed.
Keith Boggs, county assistant executive officer, said more than 20 business leaders, focused on sectors from real estate offices to restaurants, met virtually to discuss prospects and guidelines for restarting economic activity.
A next step is preparing online training for merchants on social distancing, cleaning and other measures to keep the virus from spreading as customers return to gyms, entertainment venues and clothing stores.
County officials expect that retail shops will adopt creative ways to provide low-risk “curbside” service to customers who order items online. It should be easy for florists or bookstores but more of a challenge for other business owners, staff said.
“When we open, everyone has to continue to believe that everyone around you has this virus,” Supervisor Vito Chiesa said.
When did outbreak peak in Stanislaus County?
Vaishampayan displayed evidence leading her to believe the coronavirus outbreak peaked in late March and early April.
A chart showed the number of hospitalizations was highest in that time period and then peeled off to a low rate through the end of April.
People going to emergency departments with coughing symptoms followed the same trend line. And the rate of positive tests for coronavirus has been around 6 percent for weeks, after being near 12 percent in late March.
A deadly outbreak at the Turlock nursing home has caused a second peak in coronavirus illness.
Vaishampayan said it’s too early to consider large gatherings because of the prevalence of the virus. Public health staff was recently made aware of a get-together with 50 people and 20 percent of them became ill, she said.
“We can’t have mass gatherings right now,” Vaishampayan said. “We hope when we get into the summer we can have larger gatherings.”
The county now has the ability to test about 1 percent of the county population, with public testing sites in Salida, Keyes and Patterson, plus the drive-through testing done by private healthcare providers, hospitals and community clinics, Vaishampayan said.
The health officer said she’s working on obtaining more gowns and N95 face masks so that dental offices can open again.
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 2:45 PM.
