San Mateo County Declines to Implement Newsom’s Lockdown Order

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new slate of executive orders demanding that businesses, indoor dining, and hair salons close down when their regions reach the point of 15% ICU capacity. The order, which will put much of southern California and the area immediately south of Sacramento under lockdown for three weeks, has been accepted in much of the state.

However, there are pockets of resistance; the Orange County sheriff said this weekend that his deputies would not be enforcing the order, and San Mateo County officials said Thursday that they would decline to implement the mandate as well.

“We know our residents have sacrificed and patience is growing thin, but we need you to know that you have the power to curb the spread and preserve hospital capacity for those who will need care in the coming weeks. We can get through this together if each of us takes action now to social distance, wear face coverings and avoid gatherings,” said County Manager Michael Callagy.

In a separate statement, County Chief of Health Louise Rogers said that it’s important to acknowledge “the reality of the pandemic fatigue that residents are experiencing and the need to find sources of support through this challenging period.”

“Our collective focus,” she said, “must be on finding ways to support each other through this crisis safely while limiting gathering and adhering to face covering.”

San Mateo isn’t drawing a line in the sand the way the Orange County sheriff is, but they are at least delaying their implementation of the order and trying to work WITH the public rather than impose mandates UPON them from above. To put it another way, the county officials here at least seem to have some glancing respect for the freedoms and rights of their residents. They appear to have some nodding familiarity with the economic and emotional damage these extended, strict lockdowns can have. That puts them a damn sight ahead of Newsom.

“We are at a tipping point in our fight against the virus and we need to take decisive action now to prevent California’s hospital system from being overwhelmed in the coming weeks,” the governor said Thursday. “By invoking a Stay at Home Order for regions where ICU capacity falls below 15[%], we can flatten the curve as we’ve done before and reduce stress on our health care system.”

By the time this is over, Joe Biden will have to double the deficit just to bail these blue states out of the economic jam they’ve put themselves in. And we’re sure he’ll gladly do it.

Hold onto your wallets.