Logistics of reopening businesses safely at issue

As more San Diego businesses reopen and employees go back to work, logistical hurdles need to be overcome for that to happen safely.

Gov. Gavin Newsom made a surprise announcement Monday allowing for the limited reopening of some businesses on Friday for curbside and pickup service. That suggests more loosening of the rules may be happening sooner rather than later.

The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a framework for how businesses can open.

The governor’s announcement comes on pretty short notice and there’s a question of whether all businesses allowed to open will be ready in time.

Several issues facing businesses are day-to-day operational matters that won’t be simple in the coronavirus era. For instance:

• Can enough safety supplies be obtained, particularly masks, infrared thermometers and, yes, hand sanitizer?

• Will businesses have the space to comply with social-distancing requirements?

• Can elevators work efficiently with spaced-out queues and sharp limits on the number of people on board?

• How can working parents find and afford child care now that schools are closed?

These are just a handful of the many concerns that have been examined by a city-county task force of business, labor and civic leaders who have drafted recommendations on what should be done to restart more of the local economy.

The Responsible COVID-19 Economic Reopening Advisory Group also looked into thorny issues that are heating up in the halls of the state Capitol in Sacramento and on Capitol Hill in Washington: whether to limit liability for businesses and guarantee sick pay or workers’ compensation should an employee contract the disease.

The task force was charged with advising on reopening strategies, not creating a timeline.

“It’s not about when they do it, but how,” said Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, who is a member of the panel.

Keith Maddox, executive secretary-treasurer of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, said creating safe workplaces in these times will be a challenge, but was confident that can be achieved.

“We know it can be done,” said Maddox, also a task force member. “We can adapt.”

Betsy Brennan, president and CEO of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, agreed, but said businesses need ample lead time to restock and make adjustments to open amid the COVID-19 crisis. Brennan, also a task force member, said on Monday that some businesses may need a week or more to get ready. The governor hadn’t yet released the details of his latest plan, but she suggested it would be a challenge for some businesses to open Friday.

“That’s a difficult thing to do,” she said.

All three said lessons from essential businesses that have remained open, from grocery stores to biotech businesses, will help chart the way for others. Many have established

rigorous sanitizing procedures, required masks for employees and customers, installed protective shields, enforced social distancing both inside and outside and, when possible, had employees work remotely.

“There’s a lot we can learn from companies that have remodeled ... in real time,” Brennan said.

They also said they’ve looked at professionals who have long used safety equipment including gloves, protective eyewear and masks on the job, such as firefighters and construction workers.

Obtaining enough supplies for essential workers has been a challenge — including for medical personnel. The degree of diffiwith culty will increase with more businesses restarting.

There’s an expectation that employees will be tested and have their temperature taken regularly, perhaps more than once a day at some businesses. Customers may also be required to have their temperatures taken before entering a business. Some hotel chains have said they already plan on doing this.

The equipment will add to the cost of doing business, along with other possible changes, such as structural modifications. The task force discussed whether businesses should have separate entrances and exits, so fewer customers and employees have to pass one another.

Some businesses, such as restaurants, may have to limit the number of customers at the outset to comply

social-distancing requirements. That could hurt revenues and mean fewer employees. Some companies likely will stagger shifts for the same reason.

Maddox said the keys to reopening are testing and temperature-taking, providing personal protective equipment, sanitizing and social distancing.

“If you can’t do that at the worksite, I think you’ve got to hold off for a while,” he said.

One huge concern for employees and business owners alike is the need for more child care. Newsom and the county of San Diego have moved to assist essential workers with child care. The San Diego task force acknowledged the need for child care for the broader workforce, but didn’t offer recommendations on how to meet the demand.

Even before the coronavirus outbreak, local business organizations were working with the San Diego legislative delegation to seek changes in current state restrictions that tend to limit child care facilities in urban areas. They’re pushing to have child care provided on-site at businesses.

Another big issue where business and labor — and Republicans and Democrats — generally disagree is whether to restrict lawsuits against businesses over coronavirus protections.

A proposal to do so has become part of the debate in Congress over more financial assistance for the states, with Republican leaders insisting any bill include limiting liability, which Democrats oppose.

Maddox contends financial assistance for workers who come down with

COVID-19 should be guaranteed.

“There needs to be an assumption that you’re bringing people into a higher-risk” situation, he said.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-san Diego, introduced legislation last week that would give essential workers “presumptive eligibility for workers’ compensation if they contract COVID-19 during the public health crisis.”

Everybody wants to get back to work. But Brennan, Maddox and Sanders said there is great caution, with the priority on doing it right rather than fast.

Allowing businesses to reopen only to have them closed again is the last thing anybody wants.