A new sign recently sprouted around downtown Walnut Creek exclaiming “WE’RE OPEN – Support Walnut Creek Businesses” and it looks like thanks to the nice weather and quarantine exhaustion, more and more people are venturing out. Both Lottie’s and San Francisco Creamery had lines with people looking to get their ice cream fix outside. This is definitely the busiest I ‘ve seen downtown Walnut Creek since the quarantine began in a couple of months ago.
Photo by Unsplash user @chrisknight
In order to flatten the curve over the coronavirus pandemic, shelter-in-place orders with specific rules were put in place a couple of months ago. The order is being loosened slightly but indoor services provided by salons such as haircuts are still not permitted. Yet, as I was strolling in downtown Walnut Creek recently, I saw one barber giving a haircut to another person with yet another person, all on the older side, sitting inside. None of them were wearing masks. As I peered through the window incredulously, the barber came outside and told me he was giving a haircut to his friend.
Although this happened in the open, I’m sure this must be happening elsewhere in a more private setting. Should barbers and other salons be exempt from the Bay Area shelter-in-place orders?
With kids and families stuck at home due to the shelter-in-place orders it’s no surprise to see more and more sidewalk chalk messages of hope during the trying times of Covid-19. This one says:
Together We Will Succeed – Enjoy the Flowers – Be Kind
Since when did stop signs decorated on the backside with birds and bird feeders become a thing? I’m seeing them all over the place the past year.
Citrus Marketplace, Walnut Creek
Thanks to those who emailed (and sent the above photo); Denica’s, which opened about seven years ago, recently closed at Citrus Marketplace in Walnut Creek. Their other three locations are temporarily closed due to the pandemic. Check for updates on their website here.
A few days ago I mentioned how playgrounds, skate parks and basketball courts are being closed in Moraga. Finally, the volleyball nets have been removed as well. Benches and parking lots are being draped with caution tape to discourage people from congregating to help battle the Covid-19 pandemic and save lives. At the same time, businesses and people are trying to make it in a world that is slowly suffocating due to stay at home orders. It’s been over a month now and as the weather improves I’m getting antsy stuck at home for so long.
Do you feel that the various orders and rules being issued are being done thoughtfully, to provide enough time to flatten the curve until antibody and Covid-19 tests can be mass-produced? Or is this hurting the economy too much? Millions of people have become unemployed and businesses are hanging on by a thread. Or is too little being done to stop the pandemic in its tracks? After all, if everyone stayed at home for two weeks the pandemic would cease to exist.
It seems like every time I visit Safeway and elsewhere, a new rule is in effect to combat the spread of the coronavirus during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the above photo you can see ONE WAY signs alternating directions each aisle. I waited for a cashier at the end of one aisle and another shopper told me she thought the signs were for waiting in line, but based on the wording “remember to stay 2 carts apart”, they are an attempt to force social separation which is pretty hard especially if the shopper in front of you is spending an inordinate amount of time mid-aisle and you want to pass to get something further down the aisle.
Spotted in downtown Walnut Creek.
Facial Covering Required for Branch Access
—Wells Fargo
I remember a time when facial coverings were not permitted when entering banks. My, how times have changed!
Plaza Escuela, Walnut Creek
It’s interesting to compare and contrast different shopping centers and restaurants around town. Here you can see the benches at Plaza Escuela in downtown Walnut Creek have been wrapped in caution tape with a note stating that, “due to the recent health crisis and mandates from the local authorities, this area is temporarily closed until further notice”, while a few blocks away at Broadway Plaza the benches are open and this weekend were occupied by the most amount of people I have ever seen since the shelter in place order went into effect last month. Within Plaza Escuela itself you can the patio tables at Chipotle in the background are publicly available and many times occupied.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Moraga Commons Park closed playgrounds, the skate park and recently removed the basketball hoops. However, the volleyball nets are up, even though it’s closed according to the town website. Almost every time I walk by I see people playing. Why go to the trouble of removing the basketball hoops a short distance away but leave the volleyball nets up?
