Newsom Lifts The Double Secret Lockdown

On December 9, Gov Newsom issued a completely new regional lockdown order based on prospective ICU capacity that covered most of California. This was over and above an existing color-coded lockdown order that was itself draconian, limiting family gatherings and prohibiting indoor restaurant service.

The new order went farther, banning haircuts, manicures, facials, outdoor restaurant service, and most travel. This was effectively the same as the lockdown imposed between March and May 2020, with some added permission for limited "non-essential" retail.

I've callled this the double secret lockdown. Yesterday, Newsom lifted it, with little notice -- he telegraphed it only the night before, when the California Restaurant Associatioin released a letter from him giving them a heads-up. Newsweek, clearly unhappy he'd done this, nevertheless pointed out the contradictions:

Up until this week, California has been under one of the harshest lockdowns across the country. But Governor Gavin Newsom moved to reverse those orders amid an effort to recall him from office.

Despite no significant improvement for the state's overwhelmed intensive care units (ICU), public health officials announced Monday that regional coronavirus stay-at-home orders across the state will be lifted, allowing restaurants to immediately resume outdoor dining.

. . . {T]he state's coronavirus dashboards shows that two regions currently remain nowhere near the required 15 percent. ICU capacity in the San Joaquin Valley is at 1.3 percent, and the number of hospital beds available in Southern California, the state's hardest-hit region, remains at zero.

The lack of improvement in the state's coronavirus figures raises question as to why Newsom would begin lifting orders now, as the parameter he set hasn't been met everywhere.

Newsom caught a lot of criticism for easing restrictions mildly last May, with much handwringing in the media over whether he'd done it "too soon". Subsequnt experience seems to indicate that the disease does what it does, irrespectivve of lockdowns. Los Angeles County locked down before Thanksgivinig with dire wanings of what would happen to grandma over turkey, but cases soared throughout the holidays nonetheless.

That Newsom would loosen things now even without any improvement in ICU capacity suggests he may be recognizing on one hand that lockdowns are futile. On the other, he may be responding to pressure, given the continuing success of the recall campaign in gaining the million-and-a-half signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

The proble,m is that Newsom is unreliable. When a lawsuit by San Diego area churches objecting to closed worship services got to the US Supreme Court in May, Newsom allowed them the same weekend, and the court declared the issue was moot and refused to hear the case. Newsom then closed churches again six weeks later.

This can happen again at any time. But Newsom can as easily declare that the stars and planets make barbers, restaurants, and churches unpropitious and shut things down again any time it suits him. Lawsuits insisting there is no rational basis for existing continued closures -- for instance, of indoor gyms or indoor dining -- are stalled in the courts. An astrological basis for new lockdowns would have the same de facto authority, it would seem.

The whole environment of red light-green light at the authorities' whim is incredibly destructive. A big problem is that the elites, including the media, are effectively insulated from its effects. Newsweek, which nobody reads, thinks this sort of thing needs to continue.

Lawsuits need to continue, even if Newsom strategically relaxes restrictions in hopes of making them moot. Precedents need to be etablished. So does the recall Newsom campaign -- even if he lifts this or that as expedient, he needs to be out to keep him from doing this forever.