EXECUTIVE UPDATE

Over the past week, the County has seen many changes under the State’s Resilience Roadmap. On Friday, May 29, the Board of Supervisors held a special meeting and unanimously approved our variance application to move the County into late Stage 2, allowing dine-in restaurants and barbershops/hair salons to open with modifications to protect the health and safety of staff and customers.

Thanks to the dedication and skill of staff in our Public Health Division, the variance was approved the following day. These operations are now allowed to resume, building on the work we have done to safely reopen other sectors of our economy. On May 26, Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel issued an order aligning Santa Cruz County with the Resilience Roadmap going forward. That has led to the reopening of office workspaces, outdoor museums, limited personal services, and in-store retail, which is slowly beginning to resume operations as our local small business owners determine how to proceed and what is safe for their operations.

If you are a local business looking for guidance on safely reopening, we have compiled sector-specific information here. https://www.santacruzhealth.org/HSAHome/HSADivisions/PublicHealth/CommunicableDiseaseControl/CoronavirusHome/PublicInformation/ReopeningGuidanceDocuments.aspx

Those changes have also allowed the County to resume offering critical public services to our residents. Many of our public counters have now reopened, though some will have limited public counter hours and all public areas will comply with the Health Officer’s Social Distancing Protocols, including requiring face coverings and physical distancing requirements. We suggest residents check for availability and services with departments by calling or visiting department websites at www.santacruzcounty.us.

We are in the third month of our Shelter-in-Place orders, and times have been difficult for all of us. Fortunately, our efforts are working. We have slowed the spread of the virus and minimized impacts to the community. I urge all residents to keep it up, particularly when it comes to gathering with friends and family. While our desire to be together after so long apart is understandable, we have already seen numerous clusters related to family gatherings.

Despite this, and despite Santa Cruz County being located next to one of the major U.S. hotspots for coronavirus, we have succeeded in keeping our case counts low. The credit for that goes to our residents, who have followed the science and made significant changes in their own routines in order to protect the most vulnerable among us. Thank you again for all you have done, and for all you continue to do.

Carlos J. Palacios
County Administrative Officer

May 18, 2020 update

Recently, we were pleased to launch a new community testing site at Ramsay Park in Watsonville through OptumServe, one of 80 testing sites statewide designed to increase California’s ability to diagnose, treat and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Our current priority is Tier 1 essential workers such as frontline health care staff and first responders, construction workers, grocery workers, hotel staff and more. To make an appointment, go to https://lhi.care/covidtesting.

This week, we began conversations between the Health Services Agency and Economic Recovery Council. We are grateful to our partnership with Community Foundation Santa Cruz County in these efforts. This process will help facilitate a safe, phased and enduring reopening of our community as we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s [covid19.ca.gov/roadpmap]Resilience Roadmap and local public health leaders.

Speaking of the Resilience Roadmap, we have received many questions from the community about reopening certain sectors provided safety measures are in place for customers, clients and staff. We strongly support reopening the community, but are bound by the governor’s statewide plan for reopening. While the County Health Officer has allowed the County to enter early Stage 2 openings under the state plan, we must meet certain indicators in order to move into later Stage 2 openings, which would include limited dine-in restaurants, shopping malls and a few personal services that don’t involve direct physical contact, such as car washes.

Unfortunately, the County is currently unable to move past these limited Stage 2 reopenings without State approval. These include Stage 3 businesses such as hair and nail salons, or Stage 4 events such as concerts, conventions or festivals. Until we receive further guidance from the State, the County cannot remove restrictions on these kinds of event regardless of how well our community is doing preventing the spread of COVID-19. The governor recently indicated some Stage 3 businesses and entities may open within weeks, and we look forward to that along with the rest of the community.

I do want to take the time to thank everyone for the sacrifices they are making. COVID-19 has been incredibly difficult for all of us, but the work we are doing together is helping to protect the most vulnerable among us. Even as we move to lift some restrictions, you all are to be commended for continuing to follow the Shelter-in-Place restrictions and protect the lives of all Santa Cruz County residents.

Carlos J. Palacios
County Administrative Officer