San Francisco Bay Area under the epidemic: When is the "long winter"?

China News Service reporter Liu Guanguan

Over the years, delicious food, wine and a strong artistic flair have made The Northern California town of Sonoma famous. This winter, though, it's a bit deserted.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some frontage restaurants have opened up dining areas at their doors to attract customers. And now, in front of a restaurant diagonally opposite the town hall, dining chairs are buckled back on the table, and an iron chain locks them together. Another restaurant is still open in front of the door, and there are only three or three diners. The midday sun casts through the shutter-shaped ceiling, creating a clear light and shadow on people.

A hundred meters away, there is a theater with a history of nearly 90 years. Above the ticket hall at the entrance, the title of the movie "Gucci Family", which is being released in North America, is posted. A masked dummy sits in the ticket hall, and occasionally passers-by pause briefly to photograph the funny scene with their mobile phones. On the signs below the ticket hall, there are the theater's requirements for masks, COVID-19 vaccines and virus test results. The theater also reminds the audience in the most prominent position on its official website that the theater can only accommodate 50 people at the same time in the near future.

This is a new regulation introduced in Sonoma County, where the city is located, in response to the surge in cases brought about by the Aomi Kerong variant. From Jan. 12 to Feb. 11, indoor gatherings of more than 50 people in the county as well as outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people were banned. Local officials also advised residents to re-observe the "stay-at-home order" during this period and avoid contact with people outside their homes. Under the new rules, some events in Sonoma County have been forced to cancel, postpone or reduce the number of people.

The peak of the epidemic and the new epidemic prevention regulations have also worried Christina, who runs a clothing store nearby. "In fact, opening a clothing store is not just my job, I like to communicate with customers in the store and give them advice on clothing matching. I was also happy to see them leave satisfied. "And now, everyone just buys the clothes they need and leaves, and rarely stays in the store." ”

In San Francisco, about an hour's drive from Sonoma, the little-visited sightseeing cable car rides through the empty streets, no longer as lively as it was when it was reopened last August. Unlike Christina, some small business owners here are more concerned about when major businesses will restart their offices.

"In this city, there are countless small business owners like me who rely on the 'office workers' of large companies." Fernando, the barbershop owner, said, "For us, even if the big companies are open two or three days a week, it is a positive signal." ”

The ups and downs of the pandemic have led companies to repeatedly delay the return of employees to the office, but Fernando's wishes may not be difficult to fulfill. Oplanovic, policy and regulatory adviser to the San Francisco Bay Area Council, said his organization conducts monthly surveys of the resumption of work at about 200 Bay Area businesses of varying sizes. She said many employers plan to move their employees to a hybrid office model in the future. After analyzing the 9-month data, more than 40% of employers said that in the future, employees may be required to go to the office 3 days a week.

In Garden Corner Square, Chinatown, just a few blocks from Fernando's barbershop, Justin is being tested for the coronavirus.

Starting at the end of 2020, the public will be tested for COVID-19 for free every Wednesday. Recently, in the face of an unprecedented surge in cases, the testing time here has been extended from 1 day a week to 5 days. Justin told reporters that other local testing stations, now online registration, will not be tested at the earliest two weeks later. After seeing on the Internet that the testing station in Chinatown could be tested without appointment every Wednesday, he rushed to the first time. From registration to completion of the test, Justin took only a few minutes.

As Justin said, recently, many new crown testing stations in the United States have been difficult to book and long queues. However, within one or two hours of noon on January 19, the reporter saw at the testing station in Chinatown that the number of people waiting for testing did not exceed 20 at most.

In this regard, Chen Jialin, a senior project manager at the San Francisco Economic and Labor Development Office, told China News Agency that the testing station's working hours were extended to 5 days a week, and the testers were diverted to other days. At the same time, the peak of testing caused by the return of students to school and the return of employees to work at the beginning of this month has passed. In addition, local school districts have distributed test kits to teachers and students, and many families can test themselves.

The peak of testing caused by the return of students to school has passed, but the high infection rate caused by the Omiljung mutant strain has doubled the pressure on many parents, especially parents of young children.

Kelly, a mom of two, who lives in Burlingame, San Mateo County, told reporters that after the New Year's holiday, her son's kindergarten required the children to provide proof of a negative covid-19 test when they returned to school. At the time, Kelly ran nearly 10 pharmacies and supermarkets and did not buy test kits. At the same time, the nearby COVID-19 testing station is overcrowded, and even if you queue for several hours, you may not be able to get tested.

Just when Kelly was at a loss, a new situation appeared in the kindergarten. Because nearly half of the teachers test positive for COVID-19, all kindergarten classes will be transferred online. This disrupted Kelly's plans.

To care for her children, Kelly has been a stay-at-home mom for several years. "I wanted to start looking for a new job at the beginning of the year, but now I can only continue to take care of my children at home." Kelly choked, "This winter is too long, harder than last year." Who knows what new virus variants will emerge in the future? ”

At a news conference held by the San Francisco city government on Jan. 20, Colfax, the head of the local public health department, said the surge in cases in San Francisco peaked on Jan. 9 and has now leveled off and begun to decline. Mayor Brid said: "The light at the end of the tunnel has appeared. ”

If that's the case, the "long winter" for the people of the San Francisco Bay Area may soon be over. (End)

Source: China News Network