Riverside County seems poised to move into the second part of the state’s Stage 2 reopening process—meaning people may soon be able to shop in stores, and dine in at restaurants.
This news comes as a result of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement today that he’s revised the state’s somewhat odd reopening criteria—and that “roughly” 53 of the state’s 58 counties would soon qualify.
Of course, he did not announce which of the 53 or so counties qualify. So I checked the state’s county-variance website for updates throughout the afternoon to see if Riverside County had qualified, and I got excited when the page with the list of counties crashed for about an hour. I thought maybe it was being updated … but that was not the case. Boo!
Anyway, this afternoon, Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said in a Facebook video that he was confident the county would meet Newsom’s revised criteria. So … ready or not, here we probably go, maybe!
More news from the day:
• Joshua Tree National Park reopened over the weekend. The Los Angeles Times has the details.
• The county has opened yet another free testing site in the Coachella Valley, this one at the Cathedral City Library.
• Some very, very promising news on the vaccine front: The volunteers who participated in a study for biotech company Moderna’s vaccine developed antibodies, and the vaccine caused no harm to the participants. You all know the rule about rushed studies these days—they need to be taken with that gigantic figurative grain of salt—but the news could not have been any more encouraging. CNN has the news on that.
• More vaccine news, from the San Francisco Chronicle: One potential vaccine, being designed by a Northern California company, is actually administered via a patch. Science!
• Other news from Gov. Newsom from today and over the weekend: He’s asked the state’s casinos to reconsider their opening plans for now. And in something of a surprise, he said pro sports will probably be able to return to the state—in empty stadiums—come June. Also possibly coming in a couple of weeks: Haircuts!
• Highly recommended: Fareed Zakaria’s “take” from his Sunday CNN show. He powerfully makes the case that the reopening debate has its roots in class and income. This is a must-watch—especially if you’re a college-educated person who is still employed and who has no doubts whatsoever that the reopening process is being rushed across the country.
• Yes, we really are living in the worst timeline: So the president came out today and said he’s been taking a disproven, dangerous drug to prevent COVID-19. Then the speaker of the House criticized him for doing so, in part because the president is, in her words, “morbidly obese.” Ladies and gentlemen, your federal government!
• From the Independent: Our resident sommelier, Katie Finn, has been holding wine tastings via Zoom—and they’ve been a blessing. But they can’t replace the real thing.
• What is the future of restaurants? The San Francisco Chronicle takes a multimedia look at what to expect when we’re allowed to finally dine in.
• If you want to break the rules, you rebel you, and see your friends despite the continuing stay-at-home order, the Los Angeles Times breaks down the risks you’ll be facing.
• NBC News looks at how COVID-19 patients are helping each other in ways that medical professionals cannot.
• NERDS! I say that with tons of love, even though we Stanford folks are trained to dislike anything UC Berkeley: After the college’s graduation ceremony was cancelled, students wound up replicating the campus and having a virtual ceremony via Minecraft.
• A unique idea from a Maryland bar to make sure customers maintain social distancing guidelines when it’s time to reopen: Everyone wears innertubes on wheels!
That’s certainly enough for today, no? Wash your hands. Wear a mask when you leave the house, because more and more science is coming out showing that it drastically cuts down on virus transmission. If you own a local business, or want to support a local business, check out our $199 advertising special. If you can afford to support local journalism, please consider becoming a Supporter of the Independent. We’ll be back tomorrow!