Urgency in the emergency

At the Board of Supervisors meeting this past Tuesday, Supervisor John McCowen was doing his job, quite doggedly in fact, attempting to convince outgoing Public Health Officer (PHO) Mimi Doohan to prepare a state-required attestation form that would lead to approval of reopening certain segments of the shutdown local economy.

But Doohan remained insistent she couldn’t do so until the county was in compliance with a so- called Stage 2 testing standard. She estimated it would take another two weeks before the county could meet the guideline that calls for 135 COVID-19 tests per day.

Counties will get the green light from the state after submitting attestation forms proving they are ready to reopen at a faster pace. A county that has met certain criteria in containing COVID-19 may consider increasing the pace at which they advance through Stage 2 of California’s roadmap to modify the Stay-at-Home order.

As of this Thursday, the state has allowed 19 counties, including neighboring Humboldt County, to reopen quicker under its Stage 2 guidelines. The goal is to open the state in a way that minimizes the risk for COVID-19 to the extent possible, which includes: 1) limiting non- essential movement and mixing of populations, especially within jurisdictions with higher confirmed cases, and 2) delaying the opening of environments in which there is prolonged and close contact as part of the way business must operate.

All 19 counties have filed an attestation that they have met the readiness criteria. These counties can move more quickly through Stage 2, opening sectors once state guidance is posted for that sector. Meanwhile, Mendocino County’s economy will remain closed pending resolution of the daily testing requirement.

Doohan said she doesn’t believe the county can meet testing criteria without state support and providing assistance such as a mobile testing van.

Supervisor John Haschak suggested writing letters to Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Trump requesting immediate aid to resolve the lack of testing capabilities. The full Board concurred with his proposal.

But McCowen remained on task stating that “every day that goes by (without filing reopening plans) is life or death” for local businesses. “We are crushing the life out of local businesses,” he said.

McCowen said a number of times that it was “urgent” for the PHO to begin to prepare the required reopening documents in anticipation of the daily testing issue being resolved. He demanded that Doohan have them ready in time for the next week’s Board meeting.

Doohan responded, “I’m baffled by your questions about urgency. I’m working night and day” on pandemic-related matters.

The PHO evidently doesn’t understand that lots of folks, including this folk, are working night and day. That’s our duty and responsibility as government employees. No one needs to thank us, single us out for praise, or give any special recognition for any of us doing what is expected of us: It’s called doing your job.

Keep in mind, while PHO Doohan is doing her job longdistance from San Diego, and the rest of us, presumably, are doing our jobs here in Mendocino County, the majority of fellow citizens are mostly locked down in their homes, unable to work, and most likely not receiving a paycheck, while we government employees continue on the public payroll. The ones making the real sacrifices are the socalled “non- essentials,” rendered as such by government fiat.

So McCowen is absolutely on course when he talks about the urgency of the situation at hand. People’s economic lives are at stake, after all.

Under criteria listed by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), “A county that has met certain criteria in containing COVID-19 may consider increasing the pace at which they advance through Stage 2 of California’s roadmap to modify the stay-at-home order. The goal is to open the state in a way that minimizes the risk for COVID-19 to the extent possible, which includes: 1) limiting nonessential movement and mixing of populations, especially within jurisdictions with higher confirmed cases, and 2) delaying the opening of environments in which there is prolonged and close contact as part of the way business must operate.”

For counties with approved plans and attestations, under Early Stage 2 procedures they can reopen the following types of busnesses and institutions:

• Curb-side Retail

• Manufacturers

• Logistics

• Childcare for those outside of the essential workforce

• Office-based businesses (telework remains strongly encouraged)

• Select services: car washes, pet grooming, and landscape gardening

• Outdoor museums, and open gallery spaces and other public spaces with modifications

The following businesses and institutions are not permitted in Stage 2:

• Personal services such as nail salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and fitness studios

• Entertainment venues with limited capacities, such as movie theaters, gaming, gambling, and arcade venues, and pro sports

• Indoor museums, kids museums and gallery spaces, zoos and libraries

• Community centers, including public pools, playgrounds, and picnic areas

• Limited- capacity religious services and cultural ceremonies

• Nightclubs

• Concert venues

• Live audience sports

• Festivals

• Theme parks

• Hotels/lodging for leisure and tourism – non- essential travel

• Higher education While the above criteria are guidelines for counties, each county’s expanded Stage 2 reopening plan is different.

COVID-19 Orders Constitutional Challenges: If Liquor Stores and Pot Dispensaries Are Open, Why Aren’t Churches, Lawsuit Asks

As I’ve said many times, no matter where you stand on these C-19 stay at home orders and business shutdowns, I believe most people would agree that they have been destructive economically, socially, and constitutionally.

Here’s another example of one of the lawsuits that have been filed alleging constitutional rights have been violated by the orders.

Three Southern California churches that want to keep holding in-person services during the coronavirus outbreak sued Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials on Monday.

The suit, filed in the federal court for the Central District of California, challenges stay-athome orders issued in the state of California, and in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. None of those orders list houses of worship as critical infrastructure, where people are allowed to meet face to face.

“Liquor stores are open. Dispensaries are open, but the church has to be closed. I don’t see the rhyme or reason for that,” said Patrick Scales, head pastor at Shield of Faith Family Church. “How can I be a pastor and lock up the doors of the church? For me, that’s contradictory to what the gospel says or what our core beliefs are.”

The complaint cites the 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, in which justices held that “a law burdening religious practice that is not neutral or not of general application must undergo the most rigorous of scrutiny.”

The lawsuit argues that the orders are discriminatory because certain businesses can get exemptions while churches cannot. (Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer’s editor and publisher, and is also the longtime district manager of the Laytonville County Water District. Listen to his radio program “This and That” every Saturday at 12 noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org)