SLO County is reopening amid coronavirus pandemic. So what’s the best way to proceed?

I’m confused.

San Luis Obispo County is cautiously beginning to reopen, with strict rules and guidelines in place for us to follow.

Then I hear someone say, “The pandemic has been blown out of proportion. The odds of us getting sick are ridiculously low.”

The federal Centers for Disease Control says that “everyone should wear a cloth face cover when they have to go out in public,” and continue to keep six feet away from other people.

But I watch hundreds of thousands of protesters, many unmasked, marching side by side in our nation’s streets.

My hairstylist must take my temperature to be sure I’m healthy before she cuts my hair.

Dr. Anthony Fauci tells Fox News people can transmit the disease “even when they’re without symptoms.”

So medical advice and the public’s behavior seem to be reading from completely different scripts. Neither side agrees with what the other is saying.

The louder one’s opinion, the stronger the opposition rages. The rest of us are cowering somewhere in the middle, trying to figure out what to do next.

Things were clearer in the beginning of the pandemic, when we were ordered to stay in our homes and most of us willingly complied.

We ventured out only to go to the grocery store, and then armed ourselves as if we were heading into a war zone.

Fear kept everyone pointed in the same direction. There was no middle ground.

Now, restrictions are loosening. Restaurants are inviting us to come dine on their patios and day camps have the canoes swabbed down for our kids.

Even casinos tell us they’re taking adequate precautions to ensure we’re not gambling with our health.

While it’s tempting to succumb to the sirens’ beckons — Lord knows, I’d love an order of ahi poke nachos at Milestone Tavern in San Luis Obispo — I’m still confused about the best way to proceed.

A huge part of me wants to leap out and support local businesses that have been brutally bludgeoned by COVID-19.

My heart aches for what they’ve gone through. And I trust they’re following safety protocols to a T.

I recognize that I’m experiencing my own version of post-traumatic stress disorder. I have flashbacks of corpses stacked on shelves in refrigerated semis.

I see health care professionals with dark circles under their eyes pleading for supplies on the evening news.

These images are indelibly imprinted in my brain. There’s no way that I can pretend otherwise.

This is not to say my universe isn’t expanding. I’m going to visit grandchildren for the first time since February, knowing they’ve been dutifully sheltering in place in the Bay Area.

I’ve invited friends and family over to pick blackberries, an activity we can enjoy from several arms’ lengths away.

Still, I wish the way forward was clearer. I want the experts and John Q. Public to be in closer accord.

Until then, I’ll just dip my toe in the post-coronavirus waters and wait until I feel safe to wade farther out.

There’s no guarantee of shark-free waters. So for now I’ll keep close to shore.

This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 5:05 AM.