Fremont's Supervisor Wants Alameda County Reopened

FREMONT, CA — It's time for Alameda County to fully reopen, according to Supervisor Scott Haggerty.

Haggerty — who represents most of Fremont, Dublin, Livermore, and unincorporated eastern Alameda County — said Tuesday in a letter to the county's Interim Public Health Officer Erica Pan that he is empathetic to his constitutents' financial woes.

Tens of thousands of county residents could face financial devastation as a result of business closures, dwindling savings accounts, mental health issues and more, Haggerty wrote. He referenced reports that have said economists worry economic recovery from the pandemic could take nearly a decade.

"The immediate reopening [of] Alameda County is now central to the long-term health of our communities," he wrote.

Haggerty stressed his gratitude for the public health department's work to save lives, but said residents must learn to live "in a socially distanced world" since there are no vaccines or treatments available for the coronavirus.

Haggerty endorsed the county's reopening at the end of a letter drafted to express his support for allowing the Tri-Valley to serve as a pilot for a sub-regional reopening strategy in Alameda County.

Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore are pushing to be allowed to move further into the second stage of the state's four-tiered reopening plan since they have a smaller population and lower case count.

Sonoma and Napa counties are similar to the Tri-Valley, but Tri-Valley "may be the only wine region in the state that will not be open for wine tasting by June 12," Haggerty wrote.

Haggerty's letter comes after the mayors of Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton asked county officials on Friday to support reopenings in their cities, noting that neighboring Contra Costa County cities Danville and San Ramon are part of the Tri-Valley community and have moved forward with more reopenings. The mayors also pointed out that they set up a testing site that has served some 3,000 people with a 1.5 percent COVID-19 positive rate and their cities have lower COVID-19 case counts than more urban parts of the region.

The mayors said they expect political pressure from business owners to continue to build if they cannot resume operations soon.

"Our business community will need to reopen in order to stay alive and we will find it difficult to effectively enforce the more restrictive orders," they wrote.

The county said Wednesday that it was reviewing the mayors' proposal, understands their concerns and will respond to the cities.

"As we move forward with reopening we are balancing risk, safety and socioeconomic impact on our communities," wrote Neetu Balram, Alameda County Public Health Department spokesperson, in an email. "Our goal is to open all sectors as quickly as possible and as safely as possible to protect the health of people living and working in Alameda County."

Alameda is one of six California counties that have not applied for a Stage 2 variance, which allows counties to proceed more quickly with reopenings if they meet certain criteria. Fifty-two counties have been granted a Stage 2 variance.

See more: Tri-Valley Mayors To County: Relax Our Restrictions

Read Haggerty's letter:

Read the mayors' letter:

The City of Pleasanton along with the cities of Dublin and Livermore are advocating for a sub-regional SIP approach to our communities. @Dare2BWell updated SIP Order effective June 8: https://t.co/DLKNHCJvlP pic.twitter.com/yo9CkJAgoI
— City of Pleasanton (@pleasantonca) June 6, 2020