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California’s Coronavirus Reopening Sparks Confusion, Anxiety and Defiance

WAXWORD

by Sharon Waxman | May 18, 2020 @ 5:55 AM

To experience the reopening is to experience, ultimately, a realization that we don’t have any idea what we’re doing.

Last Friday, the chain link fence separating me and my neighbors from the Pacific Ocean came down. It had been eight weeks since Palisades Park, Santa Monica’s soaring cliffs above the ocean blue, was closed.

That opening came two days after L.A. County “reopened” the beaches. By which county officials meant you can stand, walk or jog on the beach, but not sit on the sand. You can enter the water (previously banned) to swim, but as soon as you get out you must put on a mask. And not sit down. Also you cannot play sports on the sand.

That same day, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti decreed that everyone in Los Angeles had to wear a mask when leaving the house, an unexplained tightening of restrictions that had been in place for weeks.

And so the reopening of America’s largest state began, a confused and confusing process with contradictory guidance from different officials, jointly driven by health results, public pressure and a nosediving economy.

But it’s not, as they say, what the doctor ordered. If you live here, to experience the reopening is to experience confusion, frustration, intolerance and ultimately a realization that we don’t have any idea what we’re doing. (I hesitate to say that California has one of the best records nationally in responding to COVID-19.)

Also Read: LA County Beaches to Reopen With Limitations on Wednesday

Palisades Park

I went walking on Venice beach on Wednesday evening and there were surfers and lots of people sitting on the sand, maskless. Lifeguards did not protest. Since last week, I’ve seen no evidence that anyone is really following Garcetti’s enhanced mask “requirement,” nor that the mayor has any ability to enforce it.

Quite the contrary. People are leaving their homes and moving about. There is traffic on the highways where there wasn’t any before. There are more people on the streets, both with and without masks. There are more retail businesses now open, though many more remain closed and many have emptied their shopfronts as they go out of business.

One of my neighbors held a rager on Saturday night — a bunch of families gathered to swim, play loud music and generally provoke anxiety from those of us around them. These were people who were ready for summer and let’s just say it was not the sound of social distancing.

People are not just tired of the lockdown, which they are, they are also uncertain what guidelines to follow. I’ve given up on understanding how well Los Angeles and California are doing with COVID-19. The broad stroke story is: We’ve “flattened the curve.” The graphs seem to show not much change week after week. As the San Diego Union-Tribune lamented last week: “The problem is, when you chart the number of cases on a linear scale, there’s not an easy way to see when the exponential growth slows.”

Also Read: LA Mayor Eric Garcetti Says All Residents Are Now Required to Wear Masks Outside Their Houses

California Covid cases by county May

The information coming from Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to be selective and insufficient, particularly on testing. He has yet to answer directly why the state lags so far behind other states (including New York and New Jersey). The tinge of politics continues to color people’s reactions, rather than knowledge and science.

As TheWrap has reported, testing has ramped up in the state, but there isn’t much indication of what that means for those staying at home. And contact tracing is only just getting started in the Bay area, with no timeline provided as to when the first 10,000 tracers will be hired, trained and deployed around the rest of the state. Nor what that means for anyone who wants to reopen their business or send their children to summer camp (let alone school).

Clothing stores can be open, but you can only pick up purchases curbside. Same for sporting goods. How can you shop for clothing that you pick up at the curb? How do you pick out a baseball glove remotely?

Also Read: Thousands of Californians Are Training to Be COVID-19 Contact Tracers in 1st Statewide Program

Last week on the same day Newsom was outlining steps for restaurants to return to in-site dining, L.A.’s top public health officer Barbara Ferrer said the city’s stay-at-home order was “certainly” staying in place for another three months. (She later clarified her remarks to say she didn’t mean Mach 10 level of the lockdown, but everyone panicked nonetheless.)

It’s hard to say what’s missing here except clarity. Is it federal funding that is stuck in the U.S. Senate that is keeping the state from getting and providing clearer information? Is it the fact that we keep finding that testing is unreliable, with lots of false negatives and positives? Why don’t we have any technology component that would help the public understand the pace and location of infection and death?

All of this means that while we are eager to see the state reopen, we are unable to move forward with confidence. There’s little point in restarting an economy if people are paralyzed by confusion and fear.

Celebrities Who Have Died From the Coronavirus (Photos)

The world continues to be upended by the coronavirus pandemic, with more people contracting COVID-19 as the days pass. While many have recovered, some have died from complications of the illness. These are the names of some notable figures from Hollywood and the media that we have lost.
Terrence McNally, a four-time Tony Award-winning playwright, died on March 24 at the age of 81 of complications from the coronavirus. His works included "Master Class," "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," which later became a film with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino.
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Italian actress Lucia Bosè, who starred in such films as Michelangelo Antonioni’s "Story of a Love Affair" (1950) and Juan Antonio Bardem’s "Death of a Cyclist" (1955), died on March 23 of pneumonia after contracting COVID-19, according to the Guardian. She was 89.
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Chef Floyd Cardoz, winner of "Top Chef Masters" Season 3, died at the age of 59 of coronavirus complications on March 25.
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Mark Blum, who starred in "Desperately Seeking Susan," "Crocodile Dundee" and the Lifetime/Netflix series "You," died on March 26 of coronavirus complications. The veteran character actor and regular on New York City stages was 69.
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Maria Mercader, a CBS News veteran who worked for over 30 years as a reporter and talent director, died March 29 after testing positive for coronavirus. She was 54.
CBS News
Grammy-winning country music singer Joe Diffie died March 29 due to complications from the coronavirus. He announced his diagnosis just two days prior.
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American rock musician Alan Merrill, best known for co-writing and recording the original version of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," died March 29 of complications from the coronavirus. He was 69.
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Popular Japanese comedian Ken Shimura, whose career spanned decades, died March 29 due to complications from the coronavirus. He was 70.
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Andrew Jack, a dialect coach who most recently was hired to work with Robert Pattinson on the new Batman movie, died March 31 of complications from coronavirus, TMZ reports. He also appeared in "Star Wars: Episode VII" as a member of Leia's resistance. Jack was 76.
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Adam Schlesinger, Fountains of Wayne singer and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" contribute, died at the age of 52 from coronavirus complications on April 1.
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Ellis Marsalis Jr., New Orleans jazz legend and father of Wynton and Branford Marsalis, died at 85 from COVID-19 complications, Branford said. "Ellis Marsalis was a legend. He was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz... He was a teacher, a father, and an icon — and words aren’t sufficient to describe the art, the joy and the wonder he showed the world," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said also.
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Eddie Large, one-half of the comedy duo Little and Large, died April 2 after contracting coronavirus while hospitalized for heart failure. He was 78.
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Sergio Rossi, the Italian shoe designer, died at age 84 after being hospitalized with the virus, the brand confirmed in an Instagram post Friday.
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Patricia Bosworth, a stage and screen actress turned journalist who penned celebrity biographies, died April 2 from complications of the coronavirus. She was 86.
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Tom Dempsey, New Orleans Saints legendary kicker who was born without toes on his right foot and wore a flat shoe that he kicked with, died on April 4 from complications of COVID-19.
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John Prine, one of the most influential and revered folk and country songwriters of the last 50 years, died on April 6 at the age of 73 after being infected with the COVID-19 virus.
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Allen Garfield, who appeared in such films as “The Conversation,” “Nashville” and “Irreconcilable Differences,” died April 7 due to coronavirus complications, according to his sister. He was 80.
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Charles Gregory, an Emmy-nominated hairstylist who frequently collaborated with Tyler Perry on his films and TV shows, died of complications from COVID-19 on April 8.
Charles Gregory/YouTube
Hilary Heath, an actress and producer who starred opposite Vincent Price in horror movies in the late 1960s and early '70s, died in April of COVID-19 complications. She was 74.
American International Pictures
Rick May, a voice actor best known to gamers as the husky-throated Soldier in Team Fortress 2, died in Swedish nursing home on April 13 after contracting COVID-19. He was 79.
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Allen Daviau, a 5-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer, died April 15 at age 77. He frequently collaborated with Steven Spielberg, and worked on such films as "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" and "The Color Purple"
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Henry Grimes, celebrated jazz bassist, died on April 15 at age 84, according to WGBO. He worked with such legends as Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins.
'Knight Rider' and 'Magnum P.I.' producer Joel Rogosin died of coronavirus at the MPTF nursing home. He became the fifth person to die from COVID-19 complications at the facility.
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Rapper Fred the Godson died after contracting coronavirus, a representative confirmed to Complex. He wrote on social media of his diagnosis on April 6, but he did not recover.
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Art director Matteo De Cosmo, who worked on films including "Emergence," "The Punisher" and "Luke Cage," died of coronavirus complications. He was 52.
Victoria Dearing
Roy Horn, best known as half of the legendary Siegfried & Roy magic and animal act in Las Vegas, died on May 8 from complications due to coronavirus.

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While many celebrities who contracted COVID-19 have recovered, some have died from complications of the illness

The world continues to be upended by the coronavirus pandemic, with more people contracting COVID-19 as the days pass. While many have recovered, some have died from complications of the illness. These are the names of some notable figures from Hollywood and the media that we have lost.

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Sharon Waxman

Sharon Waxman, is the founder, CEO and Editor in Chief of TheWrap. She is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, and was a Hollywood correspondent for The New York Times.