LETTER FROM CHIEF COSGRAVE.
Hello Coastsiders,
Congratulations! Together, we made it through fourteen weeks of shelter in place orders. The new San Mateo County Health Orders are here.
Key points:
- Requires continued Social Distancing and Fomite control.
- Allows public gatherings up to 50 people when prevention criteria can be met.
- Allows limited restaurant dining-in and hair salon operation when prevention criteria can be met.
- Social Bubbles! This allows up to 12 members from different households or units who agree to only socialize with members within their bubble as if they all belonged to the same household. They can’t mix or be in any other social bubble for 3 weeks. Example would be 6 couples meeting outdoors for the block happy hour without face coverings and 6 feet of social distancing (or if you prefer, the old clicks in high school – only they never made it 3 weeks!). All in all, it provides a more controlled environment for infection control while giving people more options to socialize within the health order.
- Way more details in Health Order No. c19-11 attached above.
It’s a good time to review the California Governor’s Order for Face Coverings here, which states:
Californians must wear face coverings when they are in the situations listed below:
- Inside of, or in line to enter, any indoor public space.
- Obtaining services from the healthcare sector in settings including, but not limited to, a hospital, pharmacy, medical clinic, laboratory, physician or dental office, veterinary clinic, or blood bank.
- Waiting for or riding on public transportation or paratransit or while in a taxi, private car service, or ride-sharing vehicle.
- Engaged in work, whether at the workplace or performing work off-site, when:
- Interacting in-person with any member of the public.
- Working in any space visited by members of the public, regardless of whether anyone from the public is present at the time.
- Working in any space where food is prepared or packaged for sale or distribution to others.
- Working in or walking through common areas, such as hallways, stairways, elevators, and parking facilities.
- In any room or enclosed area where other people (except for members of the person’s own household or residence) are present when unable to physically distance.
- Driving or operating any public transportation or paratransit vehicle, taxi, or private car service or ride-sharing vehicle when passengers are present. When no passengers are present, face coverings are strongly recommended.
- While outdoors in public spaces when maintaining a physical distance of six feet from persons who are not members of the same household or residence is not feasible.
Health of the City
Bob Nisbet, HMB City Manager, and Matt Chidester, Deputy City Manager, presented and answered questions at this week’s webinar, “Health of the City.” The webinar recording is here. We are grateful for the opportunity to work collaboratively with city management and very happy for the optimism both leaders expressed about the successful reemergence of the local economy from shelter in place orders. It seems small beach towns, according to one survey at least, are projected to be the number one destination as people begin to travel again for recreation. That is our paradox; our local economy is visitor-dependent so individually we must be diligent about the four main Coronavirus defenses – handwashing, keeping hands away from mouth and nose, mask wearing, and social distancing – to keep ourselves and others from becoming infected. You know what to do! Businesses are welcoming back visitors but with new rules of engagement and service. Cooperation and mutual respect are civilities that have now become community heath imperatives. We appreciate the support city leaders are showing Coastside CERT and hope to reciprocate with positive, responsible creative personal actions to help our community thrive economically in good health.
Happy Father’s Day!
Please grill safe. Just like winter brings the chimney fires, spring/summer brings outdoor grill fires. Time to inspect your outdoor grills, firepits and heating appliances for grease buildup, rusted out bottom trays and failed gas fittings. Always make sure you have proper clearance from combustibles (like wood siding or decks/fences). Have a charged hose with a shut off nozzle. Make sure small children (and you big children) are protected from accidental burns. Do not use in high winds. We have already had 1 save because a fire engine was near by and quickly extinguished the flames climbing the exterior of the house.
In closing, I am sad to share that we have suffered a tragic loss in our Fire Department family. As I write this, the details are not yet public. Our flags are at half mast and our badges shrouded. Much of our resources are focused on responding and recovering from our loss. With this and my upcoming two-week vacation, it will be a few weeks before our next newsletter. Your Coastside CERT leadership team is in place to respond to whatever may arise in the interim. We will always send informational emails when needed.
I thank you in advance for your compassion and understanding.
Fire Battalion Chief David Cosgrave
San Mateo County Battalion 10
Serving Coastside Fire Protection District
CAL FIRE
San Mateo/Santa Cruz Unit Battalion 10-A
Cell (650) 740-7247
or call the
On-Duty Coastside Battalion Chief (877) 298-1712
Proudly Serving Coastside Fire Protection District and San Mateo County Fire Department
https://www.listoscalifornia.org/
Three Big Ideas ~ The Whole NBA League in Vegas or Disneyland?
NPR’s Planet Money 5/27/2020
GOLDSTEIN: Here’s big idea No. 3 – put an entire professional sports league inside a giant bubble. Like, instead of your quarantine pod being your family or your roommates, it would be the entire National Basketball Association or the whole National Hockey League. And then, the league would go inside that bubble and live there and play whatever – play basketball in empty arenas and the world would get to watch professional sports on TV and the players and everybody who works for the leagues would get paid. It would be like a little multi-billion-dollar corner of the economy coming back to life.