EDITORIAL – Just when we thought we would see a way out of California Governor Gavin Newsome’s PURPLE covid-19 tier, Madera County has been pushed back down again with several more weeks or months of businesses in our county being forced into bankruptcy and permanent closures. All the while our neighboring counties to the north, south, and east have been allowed into the RED tier where gyms, churches, and indoor restaurants are free to operate under safe conditions (as of today they are also back in purple). Our community has already been locked down since March; 36 weeks of our economy shut down and some lady (Our County Health Director, who happens to live in Fresno County) wants it to be even longer?
A few weeks ago Madera County met the arbitrary number set by the state on positivity rates and should have moved into the RED tier, and then Madera County Health Director Sara Bosse pulled the rug out from under our county’s economic base yet again saying our Covid-19 numbers doubled and our county’s businesses are put on hold for two more weeks. At the same time, she was upset with the Madera County Board of Supervisors for releasing county numbers before our state’s governor got to do it on his nearly daily television hour. The health department director scolded the board because the information she shared was “embargoed” until Governor Newsome released it.