‘Dreary summer’ expected in California as virus dims plans
In these dark times, clouded by fears of an enemy we can’t see and sheltered in homes we’re itching to leave, it’s reassuring to know that California’s sunsets over the Pacific are just as vivid. You just can’t enjoy them with sand between your toes.
Most beaches and virtually every other destination in California are closed because of the coronavirus outbreak. Though the outlook has improved, Gov. Gavin Newsom has written off the possibility of a typical summer. It could be one where you travel on the internet, have your temperature checked before being seated in a half-empty restaurant and worry about tan lines from your face mask.
While it’s uncertain when life as we knew it will return, it’s clear this summer will be like no other.
Newsom’s sobering message this week has foreshadowed warm days without large outdoor concerts, rides at amusement parks or trips to the coast.
His so-called road map to reopen the economy won’t have anyone packing their car for a trip on the open highway. It felt more like a chart of the stars that need to align before restrictions could ease.
“There is no light switch here,” the Democratic governor said. “I would argue it is more like a dimmer.”
California is trying to keep the virus from spreading further and stretching hospitals. Schools are closed, many businesses are shuttered, large gatherings are banned, and popular hiking trails and beaches are largely off-limits.
To begin gradually loosening restrictions in place for about a month, Newsom said there must be widespread COVID-19 testing, which has already proved problematic. Public health officials also would have to chase down everyone exposed to someone infected with the virus. That’s no small task in the nation’s most populous state, with 40 million people spread across 1,200 kilometres.
Any broad reopening would depend on a vaccine that could be more than a year away and evidence of “herd immunity,” meaning a sufficiently high percentage of people won’t get infected.