How California Went From Coronavirus Success to Hotspot in Just 5 Weeks

[marmar]

(Time) Heading into Memorial Day weekend, California’s mood was celebratory. The state had avoided dire predictions of a coronavirus surge, hospitalizations were starting to decline and restaurants and most other businesses had reopened.

As July 4th approaches, the mood has soured. Infection rates and hospitalizations are rising fast. Most bars have been ordered closed along with inside dining at restaurants. Many beaches are off-limits or have restrictions to limit crowds. Fireworks shows are canceled and Gov. Gavin Newsom is imploring residents to avoid the holiday tradition of backyard barbecues and other gatherings of relatives and friends.

In about five weeks, the nation’s most populous state went from success story to cautionary tale. Health experts say no single thing went wrong, but contributing factors included a populace made complacent by a long stretch of positive trends, the rapid reopening of businesses, a confusing patchwork of local rules and enforcement, and Newsom’s late adoption of a mandatory mask rule, on June 18.

“On Memorial Day, why did we just unleash the floodgates without a statewide mask order in place? I wish I had an answer to that, and it’s alarming to us,” said Stephanie Roberson, government relations director for the California Nurses Association. ..........(more)

https://time.com/5862653/california-coronavirus-hotspot/

[soothsayer]

1. Opening movie theaters was dumb, for starters.

Indoor dining.

Yes they needed mandatory masks, everyone does.

[Initech]

11. And opening gyms.

That was truly beyond stupid. Gyms should be one of the last things to open back up.

[chia]

2. "On Memorial Day, why did we just unleash the floodgates without a statewide mask order in place?"

This seems disingenuous, the CA dept. of public health has been advising face masks since April 1. Anyone in CA paying attention knows this, come on people, take some personal responsibility here. Put the damn mask on, you know you're supposed to.

[chowder66]

8. I agree. People were heeding the warnings and wearing masks and safe distancing

Then they got complacent.
It isn't Newsom's fault. It was on us as a population to continue with masks and safe distancing. He also didn't just open everything back up. It as a rolling opening and he went by the numbers. People were complying.

Now there are so few people wearing masks and safe distancing (at least here in Hollywood) as opposed to about a month ago when nearly 90+% were following the guidelines.

I have noticed that the last couple of days less people were out and about again.

[chia]

12. Exactly, plus RW factions in places like Huntington Beach subverted him

Something I've noticed though, if a store/business is willing to step up and enforce the signs in their own windows, people will generally comply. One popular yogurt place has a very clear sign: "No mask, no service." I've seen places shoo people outside for not wearing a mask, and other places make a weak attempt to stop someone and give up. Costco has very good compliance, Albertson's too, Walmart - not so much. Other places though, it can be a crapshoot. One one hand, I think stores/business can really help drive the habit, but on the other hand, that puts a lot of pressure on a single employee to be the first wall of defense against a belligerent customer.

[chowder66]

13. You make a good point. It's so nice that you are being considerate of the employees.

It's like a breath of fresh air to hear someone thinking of others. Just wanted to say thank you for that.

[chia]

14. Thank you so much. Your kindness made my day, I hope you're having a good day yourself.

[chowder66]

16. : )

[Dem2theMax]

3. The orders between counties and state have been so confusing.

Everyone should have been required to wear a mask from the very beginning.

I live in a gated, over-55 community. And I swear there's going to be a Civil War in this place. It's about 60/40 Republican to Democrat in here. The Democrats are all sheltering in place.

The Republicans? Well, they are having a parade today. A parade that the board of directors canceled. So the village Covidiots are going to go behind the backs of the board of directors and have their parade anyway.

And then they'll probably all gather in the picnic area and have a picnic that they're not supposed to have.

(Hoping that some long-lost relative I know nothing about, leaves me a whole bunch of money in a will, really soon, so I can get out of here.)

[marmar]

5. What region?

[Dem2theMax]

7. San Diego County.

The information we get is so confusing. And half the time it's coming from the Governor. He says one thing, and then two minutes later says something that sounds like it's the exact opposite of what he just said.

You just sit here scratching your head, trying to figure out what's supposed to be open and what is supposed to be closed. I haven't left my house since the last day of February, so it isn't a concern for me. But if people really need rules and orders to follow to be able to understand what they are allowed to do, it's confusing.

[FirstLight]

4. well, DUH!

What did these people THINK was gonna happen?
...just because tables are set farther apart doesn't do shit!

NOW the big question is: How are you gonna put the genie back in the bottle? People are not complying to current mandates and they certainly don't listen to "pleaseeee, don't do this..."

It's gonna get worse before it gets even remotely better

[Raine]

6. Opening bars ... height of STUPIDITY! 👎 nt

[ansible]

9. People got complacent and thought the sunlight would kill the virus

Honestly I'm surprised at how resilient it is, it's 100F+ weather and is too damn hot already

[Quixote1818]

10. Per capita, CA, isn't in that bad a shape compared to other states

They have 40 million people so per capita their numbers put them around 15th in covid growth.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. I Share Your Skepticism

I looked at the positivity over this period.
It went from 4.6% to 7% using the 7 day moving average on the chart from June 3 to now.
Yes, that's almost 50% relative but, other "hotspot" states have gone up 300% or more.
The way they're defining "increase" & "flat" seems sloppy.
Illinois is on the "increasing" list because the increase was >10%.
Positivity went from 2.3-2.7%. Again, it's 17%, but only up to 2.7. This is actually very good.
The CDC says anything under 12% is ok, and under 5 is excellent.
Somehow for California, 7% is no longer less than 12, and for Illinois, 2.7% is no longer less than 5.

[LymphocyteLover]

19. I feel like they want to include California so it doesn't seem like just a red state problem

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Even Though It's Largely That

Texas was over 16% and Florida averaged 20% over three days.
California is 7, and it's the same as 20!
And California's 50%, is the same as those 2 at 300%, which is the same as Illinois at 2.7, because its 10.2%.
This is a stupid way to categorize and sloppy reporting.

[LymphocyteLover]

18. Yes, agree. The numbers have gone up but it's not a scary trend like in many other states

and the last numbers are holding steady so maybe, hopefully no explosive growth.

[Iggo]

17. Newsom let Orange County break the rules.

That was the beginning.