Frustration with COVID-19 restrictions boiling over

These are trying and confusing times.

The frustration with new and complex COVID-19 restrictions was palpable across the state last week — from parents who for a while couldn’t take their toddlers to the playground, to restaurant owners who feared they may have to close for good.

Some county sheriffs revolted and said they would not enforce Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest shutdown rules. Notably, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore was not among them.

As has been the case with previous pandemic guidelines, the new rules were tweaked in the face of opposition. Specifically, Newsom relented and reversed his decision that children’s playgrounds should be off limits.

No such relief was in store for restaurant owners, some of whom spent thousands of dollars to create makeshift outdoor dining venues — which had been encouraged by state and local governments — only to see them banned. Since March, indoor dining has been prohibited, then allowed with strict capacity limits and then shut down again.

Some restaurants and other businesses, such as gyms, that had moved operations outdoors have been in open defiance, refusing to close despite the looming threat of ceaseand-desist orders and eventual fines.

Coronavirus infection data suggest these kinds of businesses didn’t appear very risky — something proprietors and their advocates pointed out repeatedly. Playgrounds also weren’t linked to many outbreaks.

But with COVID-19 caseloads skyrocketing, deaths continuing to mount and hospital intensive care units on the brink of being overwhelmed, the governor and his advisers felt drastic action was needed.

The idea is to keep people at home except for essential trips for things like shopping and exercise in hopes of slowing the surging infections and relieving pressure on hospitals. In theory, prohibiting nonessential activities that by themselves may seem low-risk gives people fewer reasons to go out.

That wasn’t clearly articulated.

“We are failing in our public health messaging,” Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious-disease specialist at UC San Francisco, told the Los Angeles Times.

She said that even responsible people are ignoring the rules “because they are losing trust in public health officials who put out arbitrary restrictions.”

Gandhi and some other

experts said people will not avoid socializing no matter what. So rather than trying to stop it entirely, they suggested the state should seek to mitigate the risk by emphasizing familiar safety measures such as maskwearing and social distancing, while allowing limited interaction. In other words, as the Times pointed out, harm reduction vs. abstinence.

But many officials have been stressing the need for proper behavior for a long time, and yet COVID-19 cases continue trending in the wrong direction. As much as restaurants tried to adhere to the rules, patrons didn’t always comply.

Some people at outdoor dining areas acted more like they were in the middle of spring break than a deadly pandemic.

It’s easy to get angry about individuals who are blissfully ignorant or intentionally flouting safeguards.

County Supervisor Dianne Jacob expressed her frustration with those people during a hearing last week about a potential ICU crisis.

“Just wear the damn mask,” she said. “It’s that simple.”

Businesses ordered to close that remain open are indeed scofflaws and, according to the state, could be further jeopardizing public health. But it’s hard not to have sympathy for business owners and their employees who are just

trying to get by.

As of Friday, it’s uncertain whether Congress will provide financial relief for businesses, or anybody else.

“I can’t just let go of my staff right before the holidays,” Alondra Ruiz, owner of The Village SD, told The San Diego Union-tribune. “I’m just staying open to pay my employees. I asked them if they want to work, and they said they want to work.”

She also noted that her customers wanted her to stay open and that her servers wear masks. “I don’t think we are doing anything wrong,” Ruiz said.

In this context, assisting local governments in shutting down businesses is something law enforcement agencies are loathe to do — and some say they won’t.

Some sheriffs have said they won’t enforce Newsom’s recent orders because they don’t agree with them.

“I believe that all jobs are essential to someone,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barns said his deputies “will not be dispatched to, or respond to, calls for service to enforce compliance with face coverings, social gatherings, or stay-at-home orders only.”

San Diego County’s sheriff is taking a different approach. Gore told KUSI he has assigned six deputies to work with code officers “to ensure compliance with local government health orders and the governor’s state of emergency order.”

He said the first effort would be to seek voluntary

compliance from violators. If that doesn’t work, a cease-and-desist order will follow, then a closure order and, eventually, possible prosecution.

There’s plenty of disagreement over both the wisdom and execution of Newsom’s order. But at least he’s trying. President Donald Trump has rarely mentioned the worsening crisis in recent weeks and hasn’t launched any substantial new initiatives aimed at stemming the spread of the disease between now and when vaccines become widely available.

Few efforts across the globe to corral the coronavirus pandemic have been successful.

A lot of people are going to continue to be hurt one way or another, either directly from the disease or the economic fallout. A catastrophe is looming if the pandemic breaks the health care system.

The choices are tough. But those backing the broad shutdown have made theirs: You can rebuild the economy. You can’t rebuild a lost life.

Tweet of the Week

Goes to Michael Beschloss (@Beschlossdc), presidential historian.

“‘Yes, Mr. President — I’ve given Justice Barrett your latest message — yes, I know you’ve called her four times — no, she’s still not available.’”