Bay Area scrambles ahead of shutdown
Residents, business owners get in last-minute tasks, fun amid surge
Residents across the Bay Area spent Sunday preparing for weeks of staying in place with a last-minute rush to get in holiday shopping, a trip to the salon or a final meal at a restaurant, just hours before tougher new restrictions went into effect to help slow the latest COVID-19 surge.
Whether it was seeing Santa or grabbing one more box of chocolates as a gift, many people were taking care of as many pre-holiday tasks as possible in anticipation of lockdowns that were taking effect late Sunday and early Monday for millions of residents across the state.
Gov. Gavin Newsom had announced the new measures Thursday, but said they would not take effect until hospital intensive care units filled. However, Bay Area health officials decided not to wait. Then, conditions in hospitals in Southern California and the Central Valley deteriorated far more quickly than anticipated, so those regions are moving ahead with stricter shutdowns as well.
Counties across California continued to set records for infections over the weekend, with Contra Costa County, Santa Clara County and
Los Angeles County among those hitting new highs in reported cases.
In Contra Costa, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, the shutdown was set to begin at 10 p.m. Sunday, while it would start two hours later in Alameda County and at midday Tuesday in Marin County. Restrictions are set to remain in place through at least Jan. 4.
“It could be the last day of the (holiday) season,” said Steve Kroninger, who has worked as a shopping-mall Santa for the past 13 years.
K roninger, 66, of El Granada greeted kids and families Sunday at the Stanford Shopping Center. Two of his young admirers Sunday were Parker and Peyton Pachkofsky, ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Mother Eileen Pachkofsky, a Palo Alto nurse, was not taking any chances with being stuck at home later. She brought her children to the mall’s holiday display, dressed for a Hans Christian Andersen Christmas tale.
“We came for Santa,” Pachkofsky said. “There is no guarantee. We’re not taking a chance of losing” their holiday photos.
The state’s restrictions require Californians in affected regions to stay at home as much as possible to limit mixing with other households, which public health officers say can lead to coronavirus spread. The guidelines limit travel to critical services and restrict outdoor activities for exercise.
Although the Bay Area still has the most ICUs available among the state’s five regions, local officials said Friday they did not want to wait until reaching the state’s number before taking action.
“It’s sort of like waiting to put the brakes on when you’re about to go over the cliff,” Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith said. “If you’re going to get the public health benefit, you have to do it now.”
Ashley Flowers, general manager of Insignia Hair Salon in downtown Walnut Creek, spent Sunday serving as many clients as possible. She said the salon’s appointment slots were all booked by midday.
Flowers, who celebrated her 37th birthday working, said the salon opened Sunday because of demand before the lockdown. She said some of her stylists planned to work until the 10 p.m. shutdown.
“We are trying our best to accommodate all of our clients,” said Flowers, who added that the stylists worked late Saturday and opened early Sunday.
Flowers said the latest action is painful because December usually is the salon’s busiest month.
“It was the month we were going to make up for the month we couldn’t work,” she said, referring to the lockdown in the spring that closed salons and barbershops, among other businesses considered nonessential. “It is impossible with the shutdown to make ends meet.”
Flowers did not plan to work through the evening Sunday. She and her friends planned to eat out for a final time before restaurants had to revert to takeout-only because of the new rules.
Jack’s Bar in San Jose advertised on Twitter that Sunday was the “last day to drink socially for a while.” The bar was set to stay open until 10 p.m. with food provided by Jtown Pizza in Japantown.
Jordan Trigg, owner of both Jack’s Bar and JTown Pizza, described the scene Sunday as sentimental.
“Restaurants and bars are the fabric of the community,” he said. “People just came in to mourn and say goodbye.”
Gaylord Gerlitz of San Jose said he and his wife went to the bar to watch the Raiders game and support the proprietors.
“Now all of a sudden he has to shut down,” said Gerlitz, 69. “Basically, they are back where they were when it all started. People are getting fed up with this.”
Trigg, a father of two children ages 3 and 1, considered disobeying the county orders to remain open. In the end, it was not an option because “dad isn’t going to jail,” he said.
With 10 locations across the South Bay, Bill’s Cafe braced for difficult days ahead as officials shut down indoor and outdoor dining.
George Zafiris, one of three brothers who own the small chain, sat Sunday inside a small office at the Santa Clara location, working out the new schedule for next week based on the staffing he expected that he would need from to-go orders, he said.
Zafiris said he fielded many calls from customers confused about the new restrictions, with many expressing fear over the virus, even before the closure was official.
Zafiris said he hopes those phone orders pick up during the lockdown because “without them, we are dead meat.”
Cameron Larsen of Palo Alto stood in a short line at the See’s Candies shop at the Stanford mall. See’s, he said, closed during the last shutdown, and he didn’t intend to miss out on some favorite sweets and gifts again.
Larsen, 48, said he planned to buy a box of mixed chocolates, his traditional Christmas gift for his wife.
He said, though, that the latest shutdown didn’t frustrate him as it has many other people.
“Let’s do what we need to do and just get it over with,” Larsen said.