SLO County GOP demands that Newsom reopen California. That’s so not helpful

San Luis Obispo County’s Republican Party is demanding that Gov. Gavin Newsom end California’s coronavirus lockdown and allow individual counties to decide what’s appropriate.

The party claims the restrictions are “blatantly and clearly inviting not only legal challenges but (also) civil disobedience,” and it says the stay-at-home order amounts to “house arrest” without due process.

The GOP resolution follows on the heels of local protests attended by some well-known Central Coast Republicans, including Congressional candidate Andy Caldwell.

The basic premise of the declaration is sound: A one-size-fits-all approach for the huge state of California is an awful way to go.

San Luis Obispo County is not a Los Angeles or a Fresno. It should be able to follow a reopening timetable that makes sense for a county of our size, that has not been hard hit by the coronavirus.

But it overlooks what is already happening: Restrictions have been loosened and the county is doing everything it can to ease the pain as fast as possible.

Nor is the state standing still. It’s allowing some counties to move forward at a faster pace to reopen dine-in restaurants, retail stores and shopping malls.

As of Thursday, it had given 18 of the state’s 58 counties the OK to reopen more quickly than the rest of the state: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Benito, Shasta, Sierra, Sutter, Tehama, Tuolumne and Yuba.

Last week, SLO County essentially “applied” to join those other counties.

It did so in a measured, bipartisan manner.

But that doesn’t mean officials are now just sitting around, meekly waiting for an answer.

SLO County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein let the state Department of Health Services know that we can’t afford to wait another week, while businesses continue to suffer.

And she told us she’ll continue to check back until she gets an answer.

Good for her.

County officials have worked hard to get us to where we are today — to the point where we can make a strong case that we’re prepared for whatever lies ahead in this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

We should be allowed to reopen additional business — with conditions such as masks, temperature checks and social distancing.

That’s not the quick “return to normal” that some want to see, but we need to be patient and let the process work.

It isn’t easy — not with some SLO County businesses shutting down for good.

On top of that, the prospect that Cal Poly will primarily offer classes online in the fall is not good news for local businesses that serve students and their families. That list includes hotels, restaurants, retail stores, off-campus student housing, downtown bars ... you name it.

But right now, even the mere mention of “civil disobedience” could backfire.

We don’t need an uptick in cases, and that could happen if we reopen prematurely and without regard for social distancing and other safety measures.

Nor do we need a local version of what happened in Fresno on Sunday, when a Waffle House opened illegally and a crowd gathered at the front door, preventing code enforcement officers and a police officer from entering.

The wisest course of action is to get behind SLO’s bid to join the list of counties allowed to reopen at a faster pace.

We have a strong case; we meets all state requirements for reopening except for two:

Number of new cases

The state has set a benchmark of no more than one new case of coronavirus per 10,000 residents over the two weeks preceding submission of the report — or “attestation” as it is officially known.

With 60 cases, San Luis Obispo County exceeded the allowable number during the reporting period, but Borenstein explained to the state that most cases were due to household transmission or originated at the California Men’s Colony.

Nineteen cases were traced to community or travel-related transmission, and Borenstein believes that “meets the intent” of the requirement.

Testing

The county also fell short of the state benchmark of 1.5 daily tests per 1,000 residents; the county’s average was 1.1.

However, there will soon be more testing; the county has contracted for an additional 1,000 tests per week starting the week of May 18, which will bring the average to 1.6 per 1,000 residents.

Bottom line: San Luis Obispo County mobilized quickly, efficiently and aggressively to fight the spread of coronavirus; to ensure adequate hospital bed capacity and supplies of ventilators and other equipment; and to meet requirements for reopening.

Any acts of defiance at this point could jeopardize all of that hard work — along with our chances of reopening ahead of the pack.

Local leaders — including the San Luis Obispo County Republican Party — should urge calm and cooperation while we give the county’s bipartisan effort a chance to work.

After all that we’ve been through, we can’t afford to blow it now with rash acts of civil disobedience.

This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 3:29 PM.