Coronavirus updates: Rural counties strike back at Newsom as pressure mounts in Sacramento County

Some Northern California counties are declaring themselves open for business to alleviate economic pressure, despite the state’s stay-at-home orders enacted weeks ago in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Three rural counties with relatively low populations and large swaths of sparsely-inhabited land have challenged California Gov. Gavin Newsom by partially allowing the economy to open back up.

Modoc County officials, who govern one of the least-populated counties in the state, announced on Friday that businesses, schools and even churches — which have proven to be a high risk vector of viral transmission — could return to normalcy.

The county, located in the far northeastern corner of California, where it shares borders with Oregon and Nevada, is one of the few in the state to have not discovered a single confirmed case of coronavirus.

The joint health chief for Yuba and Sutter counties issued new coronavirus health directives shortly afterward that allowed many businesses, including restaurants, shopping malls and hair and nail salons to reopen starting Monday.

Thus far, only 50 people have tested positive for coronavirus and three people have died of COVID-19 across both counties.

Randy Fletcher, a Yuba County supervisor, argued that the state’s unilateral approach to coronavirus response couldn’t possibly meet the needs of every individual county.

“Big state, very diverse,” Fletcher told The Sacramento Bee. “One policy may not be the answer.”

Although Gov. Newsom legally can deploy the California Highway Patrol or send in the National Guard to enforce his state order, he has remained consistent in his stance to rely on social pressure, rather than force, to keep Californians home.

Sacramento County supervisor eager to reopen

The desire for normalcy, however, is not limited to northerly counties with low populations.

Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost, who represents District 4, urged a speedy lifting of economic restrictions amid the pandemic in a letter sent out to the community Saturday.

“The curve has ‘flattened’ significantly — well beyond any of the early projections,” Frost said in her letter. “But as the initial two-week ‘shelter in place’ stretched into two months, the economic sacrifice has grown by leaps and bounds.”

She noted that residents of her district have complained of inadequate assistance to meet their needs as thousands in the Sacramento area are furloughed, out of work, or laid off altogether.

While acknowledging the pandemic as a serious health concern that shouldn’t be dismissed, she argued that Newsom’s response to coronavirus has failed to apprehend economic necessity.

“The Governor laid out his vision for ‘re-opening the state.’ But it is arbitrary and lacks any real specifics or timelines,” Frost said. “Two weeks was a struggle for many — three months will be a disaster that will linger for years.”

District 4, which consists of parts of Rio Linda, Citrus Heights and Folsom, is considerably more conservative than the urban core of the county and contains low-population rural areas along the county’s eastern edge. Many neighborhoods in the district voted against Newsom in 2018.

Kern County prepares to reopen

Kern County’s health chief rescinded a public safety order Saturday that was meant to limit business activity in the Central Valley area amid the pandemic.

The order had instituted a countywide stay-at-home order that mirrored Gov. Newsom’s statewide ruling.

“This order was originally instituted to garner additional tools to assist with Kern County’s compliance with Governor Gavin Newsom’s stay at home order and California Department of Public Health’s gathering guidance,” county officials said in a news release. “In anticipation of the Governor’s transition of re-opening of the economy, we want the county to be positioned so we can quickly maximize our local response and clear the way for the changes ahead.”

Newsom said during a press conference on Friday that California is “days, not weeks” away from seeing “really meaningful augmentations” to the statewide order, which could include permitting low-risk businesses to reopen, cited by Kern County as a reason to begin the process of lifting economic restrictions.

Despite receiving complaints from residents over the impact of the stay-at-home orders, county officials said local businesses have been cooperative.

Although the move appeared to pave the way to speedy economic revitalization, the county made it clear that it still expects residents to abide by state orders.

“We want businesses to open safely and responsibly and as quickly as possible when the Governor lifts or modifies his orders,” county officials said. “We continue to ask the community to adhere to the Governor’s order to stay at home and practice social distancing. These actions have been determined to have a significant impact on flattening our curve and helping slow the spread of COVID-19.”

The county is seated by Bakersfield, a city of about 380,000, and has so far reported 1,005 cases of coronavirus and eight COVID-19 deaths among its residents.

Folsom seeks autonomy

The city of Folsom is the latest local municipality to seek autonomy over its coronavirus response measures, and the first in Sacramento County to demand that Newsom give it the ability to reopen the economy on its terms.

City leadership sent Newsom a letter Thursday, saying that local businesses are in a “stranglehold,” while leadership sees sales and hotel tax revenues dry up.

“We are limping along financially to finish out this fiscal year and get through the next one,” reads the Folsom letter signed by Mayor Sarah Aquino and Elaine Andersen, the city manager. “Please allow individual counties to control their own destinies.”

The letter argued that infection numbers in Folsom have slowed to a trickle, and can be accounted for by small clusters, such as that at the Oakmont of Folsom senior living facility. Infections there accounted for the only increases during the latter half of April.

Coronavirus by the numbers

Across the globe, more than 3.5 million people have been infected with the coronavirus as of early Sunday evening, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University. Over 247,000 people have died and 1.1 million patients have recovered.

The United States accounts for about a third of the global total, with 1.1 million patients in the country. More than 67,000 Americans have died.

Spain has received 217,000 positive test results and has seen 25,000 deaths, while Italy has 210,000 cases of coronavirus and nearly 29,000 deaths.

New York state, however, has seen more infections that most European countries. There, more than 316,000 people have been infected with coronavirus and over 24,000 people have died.

Nearby New Jersey has also seen high rates of infection, with 126,000 cases and nearly 8,000 deaths.

California has fared better, with under 55,000 cases and 2,214 dead as of Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins. The state has more cases than Belgium, at nearly 50,000 but fewer than Canada, with 60,000.

The largest cluster in California remains in Los Angeles County. More than 25,000 people have been infected and over 1,200 people have died in the county, according to Johns Hopkins.

As of Sunday, Sacramento County health officials were reporting 1,117 cases of coronavirus, up by 10 since Saturday, and 42 deaths.

Yolo County reported 171 cases and 17 deaths, adding one fatality Sunday.

Placer County reported 159 cases and eight deaths, and El Dorado County reported 47 cases and no deaths.

What is COVID-19? How is the coronavirus spread?

Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The CDC says it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”

Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.

This story was originally published May 3, 2020 at 11:40 AM.