Update for June 12

Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

Gyms, movie theaters, museums, breweries, hotels, condominium swimming pools – those are all among the businesses and activities able to reopen across San Diego today. We expect the state to announce nail salons, tattoo parlors and other personal services can open next Friday.

It’s great news that we can start to enjoy these things again, and that people can get back to work in those industries. A giant BUT here. I can’t stress enough it doesn’t mean we’re simply getting back to normal. The danger of COVID-19 has not diminished. The restrictions we’ve endured had success in slowing its spread and bought time for our health care system to manage the disease. It doesn’t mean we’ve got it beat. Several states, including our neighbor Arizona, have had steep recent increases in cases.  

So amid the excitement of reopening, we all need to prepare ourselves for the possibility of tightening back down again. Our doctors and epidemiology staff are monitoring a set of criteria that would “trigger” dialing back. You can check out a dashboard that shows what we’re tracking and the current status.

Meanwhile, we’ve continued to expand testing in the region, which is critical to keeping infected people from spreading the virus and giving us a picture that helps us focus our efforts. Today we launched a new tool to help people find free testing locations and make appointments online.

No one wants to see us step backward. That’s why it’s so important for everyone to remain vigilant and keep up all the practices that have helped us make progress. Face coverings, hand-washing, cleaning surfaces, staying six feet apart, keeping to your household. I know they all get tedious, but they’re basic things we can do that have a big impact.

So hit the gym, hit the beach (you can park there now!), hop in your condo’s pool. Just do it with the precautions we have in place so that we can keep a check on the virus and continue to enjoy these activities.