||| FROM JOE SYMONS |||

Dr. Frank James, Public Health Officer (PHO) for San Juan County, testified before the County Council on November 18, 2020, alerting the Council and the public about the significant change in the COVID exposure rate for county residents that has occurred in the last week or so. He is particularly concerned about the next 4-6 weeks, that is, the holiday period beginning with Thanksgiving and ending after New Years 2021. He calls for extraordinary measures (pretty much doubling down on the measures county residents have been using: masks, hand washing, physical distancing, minimal exposure to non-household members) and describes the situation as an emergency.

For now, his approach is for increased education. He has not imposed and has no immediate plans to impose more stringent measures.

You can read a transcript of his testimony HERE .You can listen to his testimony HERE  beginning at time 39:43.

I appreciate the delicacy of his position, yet I can’t help wondering what he really means when he says “I mean, if there’s one thing I could do as an order, it would be to prevent people from coming here.”

He may not be able to prevent people from coming here through the authority he has. We remain in Phase 2 of a 4 phase reopening process. Phase 2 is pretty clear about travel: No non-essential travel. There’s no wiggle room.

Anyone who comes to the county for visiting friends or to get a break from being cooped up is violating the governor’s phase 2 restrictions. Given that a fair number of Covid cases have resulted from locals going out-of-county for what may well be non-essential travel (Costco anyone?), the PHO’s educational strategy should certainly double down on this vector.

One option to deal with visitors would be for the County Council to temporarily suspend the operating licenses for vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotels, resorts, etc. Hear me out please. The PHO described our situation as an emergency. The PHO says he would prevent people from coming here. Out-of-county visitors have to have somewhere to stay. As an owner of a vacation rental, I have bookings through December that are unprecedented. My bookings this shoulder season are like summer bookings. I am sure I am not alone. I have no incentive to close my facility and cancel all my bookings. However, were the county to temporarily suspend operating licenses for six weeks, I and others would be forced to cancel our reservations. (If our situation is described as an emergency, what measures are off the table?)

Would I lose income? Sure. Would my guests be unhappy? Sure. Would it stop visitors from coming? Perhaps. Some hospitality facilities might cheat. Along with a suspension order would be enforcement penalties: random audits would be conducted. Any violator would suffer a serious fine and whose operating license would not be restored for six months after the suspension order was lifted. These are ideas. I am sure there are
others. A serious discussion, happening soon (emergency?) involving all stakeholders, should be convened and a means to minimizing inappropriate non-essential travel crafted and implemented.

If potential guests are reminded, via the PHO’s recommendation, that they shouldn’t come, how many will heed the call absent any enforcement and especially absent any reduction in places to stay?

While I support the idea of education vs being a cop, by the time things get bad enough for the PHO to issue an order, we will be in a world of hurt. The cat will be out of the bag.

A stitch in time saves nine, but only if you get out the needle and thread. As a community, we need to walk the talk. How can we do this quickly, fairly, responsibly and effectively?


 

**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**