SLO is closing bars for the July 4 weekend. The rest of the county should do the same
The city of San Luis Obispo was smart to shut down bars, breweries and wine-tasting venues over the Fourth of July weekend.
Coronavirus cases have significantly increased in San Luis Obispo — the city now has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in San Luis Obispo County, behind Paso Robles — and some of those cases have been traced to the downtown bar scene.
But will SLO’s decision drive more traffic to bars in other parts of the county, especially beach communities where crowds of tourists already are expected?
We’ve seen that happen before, when Avila Beach was closed to sunbathers while nearby Pismo Beach was packed with visitors.
Ideally, the weekend bar closure would be a countywide move. But judging from Wednesday’s news briefing by county officials, that’s not going to happen.
“We are not going to be shutting things down this weekend,” county public health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said at a news briefing Wednesday. ”We have an expectation the community can rise to the occasion and do the right thing.”
We have much respect for Dr. Borenstein. While SLO County cases have increased dramatically over the past couple of weeks, we’re still in a much better position than surrounding counties.
As of Thursday morning, there were 3,164 coronavirus cases and 29 COVID-19-related deaths in Santa Barbara County and 1,748 cases and 15 deaths in Monterey County, compared to 642 cases and two deaths in SLO County. Our county public health department deserves a great deal of credit for that.
But we have some concerns:
While county residents may do the right thing, tourists from out of the area might not be so careful.
That’s not meant to disparage out-of-towners, but rather, to acknowledge that it’s tempting to let your guard down when you’re in holiday mode, especially after a beer or two. Such risky behavior could inadvertently put local residents at risk.
A countywide front would be better. Uniform regulations are less confusing, and other local communities would not have to deal with an influx of bar goers.
Also, it would send a strong message that this it not the time to be out partying in large groups.
Keep in mind, too, that restaurants serving alcohol would not be affected. This it not Prohibition. It would still be possible to enjoy a bottle of wine with dinner.
It’s not too late for the county to reconsider.
Nor is it too late for other local cities to follow the lead of San Luis Obispo and enact their own emergency measures.
These aren’t easy decisions to make. In fact, they take a great deal of courage, given that COVID-19 response measures have become such a political minefield.
It’s true that even temporary closures will have some financial repercussions for businesses and their employees. But being forced to “toggle back” on reopening for a longer period of time — as the governor has ordered other counties to do — would be far worse.
Over the long run, shutting down bars for one weekend is a small price to pay to protect the health of San Luis Obispo County residents.
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 12:55 PM.