Purple haze over San Diego County

Seven months ago, San Diegans were asked to flatten the curve, protect our most vulnerable

and make sure we had enough personal protection equipment available.

Seven months later, our curve has flattened, we are protecting our most vulnerable and we

have more than enough personal protection equipment.

While the people and business owners of San Diego have done everything that’s been asked of them, they’re being punished. With the state putting us back into the most restrictive “purple” tier, many businesses will be closing their doors for good. Restaurants will once again be forced to only provide service outside, and gyms and places of worship can’t operate indoors.

California has given us impossible guidelines and we, the people of San Diego, are being punished. These closures will add to the more than 200,000 San Diegans out of work, it will add to the growing number of businesses shutting their doors permanently, and it will add to the growing mental health crisis in our region.

If we’ve learned anything over the past seven months, it’s that this shotgun approach of closing

all businesses doesn’t work. Instead, we need to look at where people are getting sick and approach it with a scalpel. If there are outbreaks at certain businesses, then we can and should address the issues. Shutting down an entire industry goes too far.

Now more than ever, we need business owners and their employees to step up. The state needs to hear your stories, the struggles you’re going through. We the people have the power to influence a better, more balanced approach, and we need to use that power before it’s too late.