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Central, South Coast Officials Say When Coronavirus Orders Lifted, Expect It To Be In Phases

There’s a simple answer to the question that everyone has on the Central and South Coasts.

The question is “When will things return to normal?”  And, the answer from health officials and government leaders remains “We don’t know.”   But, they say when it happens, expected it to come in phases.

In Ventura County, they are saying that thanks to social distancing efforts, we are nowhere near models which once projected a potential thousand coronavirus deaths.  But, officials caution that if pull back restrictions too soon, the virus could still potentially explode in numbers.

Ventura County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin says we need to learn the lessons of the 1918 influenza pandemic.  In that one, an estimated 500 million people were infected.  That was about a quarter of the world’s population at the time.  An estimated 50 million people died.

Ventura County CEO Mike Powers emphasizes that while we don’t know exactly what the lifting of restrictions will look like, we do know it will be in phases.

Levin says the pullback will probably start with the loosening of some restrictions, with others  remaining in place:

And, officials caution that even when things start to reopen, it will be very different, at least for a while. 

We could see places like restaurants checking your temperature as you arrive, your servers wearing masks, and handing you disposable menus.

Officials say they are hoping to get a better handle on a potential timeline for some relief in the next few weeks.  But, they caution for now we all need to sit tight.  

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.