California's safe reopening must continue

Photo by Eric Pierce

Throughout this year, our nation has been grappling with an unfamiliar, double-edged crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic created a public health emergency unlike anything we have seen in most our lifetimes, and the large-scale shutdowns that followed in its wake dealt incredible damage to local and state economies. 

California was hit particularly hard by both of these crises. In March, California quickly saw some of the nation’s highest COVID-19 case numbers, resulting in Governor Gavin Newsom enacting a statewide stay at home order to flatten the curve and allow doctors and public health officials enough time to learn more about the virus. Just a month later, 2.7 million Californians had lost their jobs, and unemployment in Los Angeles topped 20 percent. The state’s minority populations bore the brunt of this, as both Black and Latino communities succumbed to the virus and lost their jobs at higher rates than other segments of the state’s population.

Since then, however, we have made important strides both in our understanding of the virus and our safe reopening of the state’s economy. In the months since the pandemic first arrived, public health experts have learned more about how the virus spreads and how we can effectively contain it. For a time, this led to officials gradually relaxing some of the most stringent and harmful restrictions, and earlier this fall Los Angeles County gave indoor shopping malls, nail salons, and a host of other businesses the approval  to begin reopening. Now, however, officials across the state have begun reimposing some of these restrictions as case counts climb, despite the success countless California businesses have had in safely reopening under experts’ guidance.

After initially being allowed to reopen, California’s indoor businesses clearly demonstrated that they are more than up to the task of creating an environment that is safe for both customers and employees. When customers enter retail establishments, for example, they are greeted by signage reminding them to wear a mask, while indicators to remain properly distanced from others are prominently displayed. In doing this, retail stores have shown a strong dedication to following all the guidance laid out by public health experts and policymakers. 

Now that it is clear that a safe reopening is possible for many of California’s indoor businesses, I trust that lawmakers and elected officials at all levels of government will refrain from imposing even more harsh restrictions on the businesses that are already doing everything necessary to keep Californians safe. California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and other leaders across the state previously showed that they realize a safe reopening for businesses is a necessary part of our recovery process, and they need to be careful to avoid backtracking in the weeks and months ahead. 

By continuing with a safe reopening of our state’s indoor businesses, we can demonstrate that California is dedicated to an informed, evidence-based response that targets the actual sources of outbreaks – such as small household gatherings – without risking the long-term sustainability of our state’s economy. 

If businesses are prevented from safely reopening, however, the consequences could be devastating. Countless small businesses have already closed for good while others are teetering on the edge, and our state’s small business community would only struggle even more if forced to weather another shutdown, and the broader state economy would suffer as a result.

Allowing businesses to reopen safely will do more than just bolster employment numbers, as well. These businesses provide important goods for families, and are also vital sources of tax revenue that can help to fund social programs which will assist the Californians who have been most hurt by the dual public health and economic crises. Instead of falling back onto the same arbitrary measures of what businesses should be allowed to stay open that were used earlier this year, lawmakers should allow businesses’ safe reopening to continue.  

As we forge ahead in our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital that we allow indoor businesses that are following health experts’ advice to keep their doors open to serve customers. This way, we can effectively work to contain the spread of the virus without compromising hard-working Californians’ ability to pay their bills and provide for their families as we enter the busy holiday season.

Dr. David Gonzalez, Jr. is an Associate Professor of Public Administration.