Santa Cruz County businesses frustrated over new tier-based COVID-19 guidelines

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) Frustration mounting as businesses in Santa Cruz County set to re-open indoors this weekend for services have to keep waiting.

Several churches and gyms in the county are planning to remain outdoors for the long haul as guidelines keep changing.

At Santa Cruz Power Fitness, the indoor gym sits empty. But out in the back, they have still got equipment. The owner says they are lucky enough to have the outdoor space for an outdoor gym.

Others, however, struggle.

"If you take a look at the gym culture here in our county, in Santa Cruz County, a number of gyms have already closed and will not be reopening," said Chris Ellis, the Santa Cruz Power Fitness owner.

And just when things were about to open up in Santa Cruz County, after two weeks staying off the state's COVID-19 watch list, new tier-based guidelines released on Friday put the county back in the most stringent category: Tier 1 or Widespread.

That means no indoor religious worship, personal care services and no indoor fitness at gyms.

"I think they're confused, I think that it's unfortunate that we're the victims of their inability to kind of get a better grasp on it," said Ellis.

At Twin Lakes Church in Aptos, outdoor services just started last weekend. Because of the erratic nature of COVID-19 and related guidelines, the church never planned to open indoors this weekend.

"We feel like it's safer for people. And we want to be together, we want to serve our church, we want to serve our community. But we want to do those things in ways that are safe and really help solve this problem," said Valerie Webb, the staff pastor at Twin Lakes Church.

For Santa Cruz Power Fitness, which the owner says has already lost 30 percent of its membership, doing outdoors long term can only go so far.

"It's not a viable solution, it's not a long term solution. It's not something that I think that most businesses in general will be able to sustain," said Ellis.