Cunningham joins bipartisan SLO County coalition to ask Governor to reopen economy

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- San Luis Obispo County Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham and a bipartisan coalition of elected leaders in San Luis Obispo asked the California Governor to reopen the local economy on Monday.

The letter asks Governor Gavin Newsom for permission to implement the SLO County Roadmap for Reopening, a phased reopening plan that includes a testing regimen and follows both State and Federal reopening guidelines.

The plan is to be announced later this week.

In the letter it talks about unemployment increasing during this time saying a "prolonged recession" is to come from keeping workers from making a living.

The letter also addresses public health risks due to the shelter-at-home order that includes mortality rate, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and chronic stress.

The coalition says that without the Governor relaxing the statewide March 19 Safer-at-Home executive order, San Luis Obispo County cannot reopen its economy and get people back to work.

San Luis Obispo County was one of the first counties to issue a Safer-at-Home order.

The County has also taken the proactive step by developing its own 165-bed Alternative Care Site, with the capacity to rapidly scale to 931 beds if necessary.

San Luis Obispo County has seen only 130 COVID-19 cases, with 111 fully recovered.