Freedom or concern? How Modesto-area residents felt on Day 1 of state’s reopening
As California lifted many of its COVID-19 restrictions Tuesday, local residents expressed a range of responses, from relief that life can return to normal to caution that life cannot be normal until more of us are vaccinated.
The end to the restrictions means that restaurants, movie theaters and stores don’t have to limit how many customers can be in their businesses and the end to physical distancing.
People who are fully vaccinated generally don’t have to wear masks, while those who are not vaccinated do. But there are exceptions for the fully vaccinated. For instance, they — along with those who are not vaccinated — need to wear masks while on public transit, in hospitals and in schools.
The Bee spoke with several people at Vintage Faire Mall, the Save Mart at Oakdale Road and Sylvan Avenue, and the Target and Safeway on McHenry Avenue in Modesto.
Jaine Velasquez said life is the same despite the restrictions being lifted. “Nothing’s changed for me,” she said at Safeway. “I’m still following guidelines because you never know.”
Velasquez said she will continue to wear a mask while shopping because she doesn’t believe it’s safe to be around other people when she does not know whether they have been vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 31.4 percent of all Stanislaus County residents were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday. The CDC reported that 41.6 percent of county residents 18 years old and older were fully vaccinated and 62.1 percent of residents 65 and older were fully vaccinated.
The county’s overall vaccination rate is low compared with the state’s. The Mayo Clinic’s vaccine tracker shows 46.8 percent of all California residents are fully vaccinated.
Not being honest about vaccine
Modesto Junior College student Emily Julio had mixed feelings.
“I feel comfortable enough to have it reopen for everything,” she said at Target, “but I’m kind of concerned just because I feel like some people are going to say, ‘Oh yeah, I had the vaccine.’ They’re going to fake it. That’s what I’m really worried about; people faking it.”
But Mitch Haile said Gov. Gavin Newsom should have lifted the restrictions sooner.
“I feel great about the reopening, and it helps us get back to life as normal,” he said at Save Mart. “I think we should have reopened sooner. ... Other states have done it earlier, and they seem to be going OK.”
Retired teacher Margaret Hodge said she worries about a variant of the virus striking Stanislaus County.
“I feel pretty good about it,” said Hodge, who was also at Save Mart. “But I’m worried they’re doing it too soon. I think the variant is coming, and I think we’re being pretty casual (about it), so I hope people are still being careful.”
Hodge said she will follow her own advice and will continue to wear a mask when inside in close quarters.
A 49-year-old Newman woman who was getting a ring repaired at a Vintage Faire Mall jeweler said while she fears the lifting of the restrictions they also have hurt the economy.
Restrictions hurt small businesses
“I know things need to be opened,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “... It’s been over a year. There is a lot people losing business. I feel sorry for the smaller mama and papa stores. I come from Newman. That’s a very small town. I just try to do my best and buy there when I can. But some things, I have to come to the mall.”
But the woman said she hopes that people, whether they have been vaccinated or not, continue to wear masks. “We have to be all very cautious,” she said. “If we are not, this is not going to work.”
Stockton resident Faisal Khan said he and his wife, Houda Nharat, thought with the easing of the restrictions they might not need to wear masks at the mall. But they brought masks and put them on when they entered Vintage Faire. There were lots of signs at the mall and at mall businesses asking customers to wear them.
Khan said about 90 percent of the mall’s customers were wearing masks. “I don’t have an issue with it,” he said. Khan said he and his wife have been vaccinated, and they will continue to follow precautions to keep themselves and others safe.
A San Andreas resident from Calaveras County said he hopes lifting the restrictions makes a positive change.
Getting his freedom back
“I would say it’s a big deal,” said the 42-year-old man, who was waiting in line to enter Vintage Faire’s Apple Store and declined to give his name. The store was requiring masks, and the man had one with him. “Change is great, and hopefully things can proceed on. ... Being able to randomly go places without having to use the mask, and you know, feel like you got the freedom back again.”
The man said he has not been vaccinated for personal reasons and said he believes the restrictions should have been lifted sooner.
“Myself, I haven’t seen anyone affected really by it, by having the sickness, or having COVID. I think it could have been done sooner.”
This story was produced with financial support from the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
To help fund The Bee’s economic development reporter with Report for America, go to https://bit.ly/ModestoBeeRFA
This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
