Concerns over re-opening after COVID-19 clusters pop up

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) Health officials are saying clusters of cases being seen on the Central Coast as a result of people breaking shelter-in-place rules, gathering in groups and spreading the virus are a cause of concern during the phases of re-opening.

Many shops on Cannery Row in Monterey are still closed, but there are some businesses trying to get up and running again. One shop says businesses can reopen and run the risk of an uptick in cases or stay closed and run the risk of closing shop permanently.

Cannery Row is not busy. While tourists still come to view the sights of the Monterey bay, the crowds are a fraction of what they usually are.

"I mean Cannery Row looking around right now, I mean we're looking Thursday, almost in the summer right now and there's nobody really walking around, so it's definitely a slower time right now," said Adam Wilkinson, who works on Cannery Row.

Businesses are starting to re-open now, after all three Central Coast counties moved toward easing COVID-19 restrictions. But there is some concern from health officials that things are moving too quickly.

"We're concerned about all of this reopening happening so quickly. The governor is not following the cadence that was expected where we would open one area and then have 21 days to look at that incubation period and the result of that action and then assess and make another action," said Dr. Gail Newel, the Santa Cruz County health officer.

In another alarming analysis, Dr. Allen Radner, the chief medical officer at the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, states that, "As we re-open our community there is every reason to believe the number of new cases will increase."

Dr. Radner also concludes "the threat has not passed" and "the number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators in our local hospitals (while manageable) has never been higher."

In their advanced Phase 2 attestation form sent to the state, Monterey County says that if there are 32 or more positive cases in a single day, there are plans to tighten and modify restrictions.

There are 20 metrics the county is looking at, including that the number of deaths within a 14 day period should not surpass five and examining hospital capacity to ensure bed availability does not drop below 54 percent.

While local officials figure how to deal with an uptick in cases, for businesses, the situation is much clearer.

"I do feel like a lot of the businesses are kind of rebelling, everybody is trying to reopen," said Wilkinson. "Basically, if we don't reopen soon, then a lot of places are actually going to start closing up and they won't reopen at all."

While the businesses KION spoke with are getting concerned about how long the restrictions will last, they say they are going to be diligent in continuing practicing social distancing and other COVID-10 precautions.