As City-operated beaches re-open for some uses following the County of San Diego’s revised public health order, Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer was joined by the San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit, Lifeguard Division Chief James Gartland, and Randa Coniglio, president and CEO of the Port of San Diego on April 27 to provide an update on the first day of limited coastal access.

“Today you stayed classy, San Diego, because you followed the beach rules developed by lifeguards and public health officials,” Faulconer said. “We’ve all seen beaches around the country reopen to pandemonium. Today the nation saw San Diego acting like America’s Finest City. This was just the first day, so we are continuing to ask for the public’s cooperation and compliance.”

PUBLIC HEALTH RULES

• Physical distancing must be followed in accordance with state, regional and local orders to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

• Face coverings are strongly encouraged. Starting on May 1, face coverings will be required by the County of San Diego when within six feet of a non-household member.

“San Diegans are doing their part and it’s important we keep going,” said Nisleit “Let’s continue our commitment to physical distancing, wearing face coverings and saving lives. Working together, we’ll be able to beat this virus and prevent more cases in our communities.”

“Lifeguards have been met with good cooperation and have not had to issue any citations since the beaches reopened. We have received good compliance with warnings and public addresses alone, and we want to encourage the public to keep abiding by these guidelines,” Nisleit added.

STILL CLOSED

• Boardwalks.

• Piers.

• Parking lots.

• Fiesta Island.

   

NOT PERMITTED ANYWHERE

• Gatherings.

• Non-physical distancing activities.

• Boating.

“We know many people are excited to get back out on the water and to enjoy the coastal activities that we all love and are fortunate to have access to as part of coastal living. It’s important to remember that even healthy individuals can infect others,” Coniglio said.

“People without any symptoms who’ve been exposed to the virus can expose and infect others. Your responsibility is not only for your own health, it’s also for the health of others. That’s part of what it means when we say, ‘We’re all in this together.’ It’s what it means to be a member of a community,” Coniglio added.

LIMITED RE-OPENINGS:

Beaches/shorelines:

• Only walking and running.

• No stopping, sitting or lying down.

Oceans:

• Only swimming, surfing, and single-person paddle boarding and kayaking. 

Bays:

• Only single-person paddle boarding and kayaking.

• No swimming.

“We want to remind everyone the stay-at-home order is still in effect. So you come to the beach, you get your exercise, and then you go back and comply with the stay-at-home order,” said Gartland.

Also starting May 1, some restrictions will be relaxed for parks and golf courses if they can enforce social distancing. Operators of a park or golf course need to create and post a plan for how they will do that. If they maintain social distancing:

• Parks can reopen parking lots, with limitations.

• Park visitors can sit, lie down, picnic if they practice social distancing.

• Members of a family or household can play active sports, such as basketball.

STAY AT HOME ORDERS

• Everyone needs to stay home except to take care of essential needs or go to an essential job. 

• Practice social distancing. Keep at least six feet away from other people unless they’re household members. Avoid gatherings of any size.

• You should wear a face-covering when leaving home. Cloth facial coverings don’t have to be medical grade but should cover your nose and mouth. Homemade masks, bandanas, scarves, and neck gaiters are OK since you can wash and reuse them. 

• It is strongly recommended you stay home, unless you need medical care, if:

  • You are over 65 years old;

  • Have a chronic underlying health condition;

  • Have a compromised immune system;

  • Have mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.

WHAT IS OPEN?

You need to follow social distancing when you visit these essential services, including:

• Grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores;

• Restaurants for take-out, delivery or drive-through;

• Pharmacies;

• Banks;

• Laundromats/laundry;

• Hardware/home improvement stores;

• Airports and public transportation;

• Childcare.

Essential government services are still available. Many government agencies have closed public offices but are offering services online, over the phone, or in other ways. 

WHAT’S CLOSED?

• Dine-in areas of restaurants;

• Bars and nightclubs;

• Gyms and fitness centers;

• Hair and nail salons;

• Entertainment venues;

• Beach parking lots. Some parks are closed;

• Public events and gatherings.

If you are unsure if a business is open, call them or visit their website to see what services they may be providing.

BUSINESSES

Businesses and organizations that provide critical infrastructure are exempted, including health care and public health, public safety, food and agriculture, and media.

Businesses allowed to stay open must also practice social distancing and encourage employees to work from home if possible. They must also suspend requiring employees to provide doctors’ permission to stay home.

All employees of these essential businesses that have contact with the public must wear facial coverings: supermarkets, grocery stores, gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants, pharmacies, childcare facilities that serve food, banks, and public transportation. 

A business selling food must have a current permit to sell food from the County Department of Environmental Health. All businesses that are open need to post their social distancing plan.

SCHOOLS AND CHILDCARE

All public and private schools, colleges and universities are closed. Parents of minor children must take steps to keep them at home.

Childcare facilities are still open, but only for children of parents working in essential sectors. Daycare centers that remain open should employ heightened cleaning and distancing requirements. Babysitters may also come to the house to care for minors of parents working in essential sectors.

As much as possible, childcare facilities need to operate in the following way:

• Limit groups of children to no more than 10.

• Children must stay in the same group and must not move from one group to another.

• The providers/teachers must stay with one group of children and not mix among groups.

• If there is more than one group at a facility, they need to be in separate rooms.

Babysitters may come to the house to care for children of parents working in essential sectors.

HEALTH CARE AND HELPING RELATIVES

In most situations, visiting someone in a hospital or long-term care facility is no longer allowed. Exceptions may be made for family or friends to visit a patient in an end-of-life situation or to allow parents or guardians to visit a child who is a patient, for example.

Non-essential medical care (for example, eye exams, teeth cleaning, elective procedures) should be canceled or rescheduled. If possible, health care visits should be done remotely. Contact your healthcare provider to see what telemedicine services they are providing.

 If you are feeling sick with fever or cough or other symptoms, first call your doctor, a nurse hotline, an urgent care center, or 2-1-1. 

If you need to go to the hospital, call ahead so they can prepare for your arrival. If you need to call 911, tell the 911 operator the exact symptoms you are experiencing so the emergency medical providers can prepare to treat you safely.

You can care for elderly or disabled parents or friends if you are not feeling sick. Be sure that you protect them and yourself by following social distancing guidelines such as washing hands before and after, using hand sanitizer, maintaining at least six feet of distance when possible, and coughing or sneezing into your elbow or a tissue, throwing the tissue away, and then washing your hands. If you have early signs of a cold, please stay away from your older loved ones.

GOING OUTDOORS

You may go outside for exercise if you can keep six feet away from people who are not members of your household. Avoid groups and crowded outdoor spaces and hiking trails. All parking lots for public beaches are closed. You should go to a park within walking distance of your home. 

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

The goal is to “flatten the curve.” This means slowing the spread of the virus to give the healthcare system time to be as prepared as possible to care for all patients.

Since there is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat COVID-19, preventing the spread of the virus to new people is critical. In addition to social distancing, other protective measures everyone must take include:

• Wash your hands often;

• Don’t touch your face;

• Clean highly used household surfaces often.

COVID-19 CASES

The number of local COVID-19 deaths went up by two and total cases saw a record increase for the second day in a row with an additional 183 confirmed cases, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.

Both deaths were women, one in her late 40s, the other in her 60s. One of them died April 22 and the other died April 23. Both had underlying medical conditions.

“Our sincerest sympathies and condolences go out to the family and friends of the deaths announced today,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “We are very sensitive to the tremendous sacrifices being made by the community and I would like to commend the public for staying the course and staying home to decrease the spread of COVID-19.”

To date, 102 San Diegans have died from complications of COVID-19. Of the people who have died, 89 were 60 years and older; 56 were men and 46 were women. Age, gender, and ethnic/race breakdowns for cases and deaths are posted at coronavirus-sd.com.

For updates on City of San Diego services, programs, and what’s open and closed, visit sandiego.gov/coronavirus.

For information regarding COVID-19 cases and directives from County of San Diego public health officials, please visit coronavirus-sd.com. Text “COSD COVID19” to 468-311 for text alert updates.

A statewide “Stay-at-Home” order is in effect until April 30. For more information on the order, including what’s closed, what’s open and which industries are exempted by the state, visit COVID19.ca.gov.