Did California wait too long to start reversing Covid restrictions?

Photo by Elijah Ekdahl on Unsplash

The state of California had the most Coivd cases in the country. 

Los Angeles County had the most cases in the state. 

Having the biggest Covid problem naturally led to one of the most conservative approaches in the country. California often had harsher restrictions than even the CDC recommended.

Now that most restrictions are gone, it’s a good time to look back and ask some questions. 

Did California go too far with its restrictions? 

Was there a better way? 

Did they always follow the science?

Los Angeles Before and After June 15th

It’s important to note that the rules set by the government are not always indicative of what actually happens. 

Technically, California was the first state to lockdown. 

However, reality didn’t always match what the government wanted. 

Los Angeles residents followed the “rules” to varying degrees. Lots of people refused to wear masks. Others wore them below their noses or around their chins. 

Since there was no real enforcement of mask rules, masks were not always worn. 

Today, the mask rules are mostly gone, but the behavior is roughly the same. Some people wear masks, and some people don't. 

In Favor of California’s Approach

The biggest argument in favor of California’s approach revolves around vaccination numbers. 

Percentage of California residents with at least one dose of the vaccine. 

• Seniors-92%
• Adults-72%

Percentage of Los Angeles County residents 16+ with at least one dose of the vaccine. 

• 65.9%

Those high vaccination rates make California as a whole well protected against future surges. 

Against California’s Approach

California and Florida are often compared since they took different approaches to fight Covid.

Florida had few Covid restrictions while California had many. 

One way that Florida performed better is when it comes to unemployment. 

Florida’s unemployment rate is 4.8%. Much lower than California’s rate of 8.3%. 

It seems like keeping businesses open helped lower the unemployment rate, but at what cost?

My Thoughts

There is good and bad with every decision. The fight against Covid had no perfect solutions. Because there were no perfect solutions, nobody knew exactly what to do. 

California got some things right and some things wrong. 

Initially, California tried to open too soon, and that backfired. That naturally led to a more conservative approach. 

While I think that California did an overall good job, there were a couple of puzzling decisions. 

The Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl lost both its appeals to allow the players' families to watch the game. Health officials claimed it was to try and curb the spread of Covid. 

However, that claim doesn’t stand up to basic logic. What scientific proof is that 500 people in a 95,000 seat stadium was dangerous? That argument is especially weak when you consider those 500 people would be masked, socially distant, and outside. 

Hollywood

What science led to Hollywood being labeled essential? Many Los Angeles small businesses are still searching for the answer to that question. 

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