CAO Message: On Our Way to Reopening

Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

For a while we’ve almost been afraid to say it aloud, but – it looks like we are on our way to reopening!

The COVID-19 trends in San Diego and across California are moving in the right direction. Assuming that continues, Gov. Newsom plans to lift the statewide stay-home order in mid-June.

Our region’s current status in the Orange Tier has allowed a fairly substantial reopening of many businesses and activities. You’ll see that reflected in County operations. Some of our counter services are starting to resume. It will be a safe and measured reopening. We’ll rely on appointments and other steps meant to minimize the risk of spreading the virus.

Planning is underway now to allow the public some level of in-person participation at our next Board of Supervisors meetings. We expect those to be a hybrid, still using Zoom for some of those who want to comment.

That’s what reopening is going to look like. Not suddenly throwing open the doors, but a gradual process using a variety of options. Many things may not go back as they once were. Departments are going to start planning the various ways they’ll restart on-site operations.     

It’s exciting, but I’m aware it may mean another period of challenging transitions. Families have a lot of moving parts, and with all segments of society going through different stages of reopening, it’s hard to get everything synced up. The tremendous flexibility everyone has shown at every level of our organization has gotten us this far, and we’ll continue to rely on that as enter this next phase.

Adding to our confidence about reopening is the success of the vaccine rollout. Demand continues to outstrip supply, but we’ve built a robust system for delivering vaccines when we get them. San Diego leads all large counties in the state in its vaccination rate. From super stations to hard-to-reach populations, our vaccine efforts have been tremendous, and I appreciate everyone who has had a hand in this. You are making reopening possible.

This week vaccine eligibility opens to everyone 16 years old and up. At the same time, we had a hitch with the pause on use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The level of caution in response to an extremely small number of adverse side effects should boost everyone’s confidence in the degree of oversight with these vaccines. They are overwhelmingly safe, and we encourage everyone to take the first opportunity they can to get vaccinated and protected against COVID-19. Pfizer and Moderna shots continue to go out, and we hope after a review, J&J will be back in the mix as well.

It’s been a long, difficult year plus. And we’re not quite there yet. We’ll still need to use caution in coming weeks, and then even beyond a June full reopening, to keep the virus at low levels. But with an appropriate level of vigilance, we appear on the path to being able to be together again, while also working in new ways that build on our telework experience.

I look forward to seeing you – and not having to tell you you’re on mute!