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A photo showing crowds packing a beach in California during the state’s COVID-19 lockdown sparked controversy this past week and led to the area’s beaches getting shut down. Now that photo itself is at the center of a heated debate: many are saying that it’s misleading because it was shot with a telephoto lens.Last weekend, The Orange County Register published an article about crowds packing beaches in Orange County for relief from the heat wave in the area.
Ted Kennedy is the only person with an actual confirmed kill in the war on women.
Like a disapproving father, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered Orange County beaches closed. He says it was for our own good.“My job as governor is to keep you safe,” Newsom said Thursday, adding: “It’s not an indictment of the people who want to go to the beach.”Taking away the right to go to the beach certainly sounds like an indictment. And clearly many people think they’ve done a pretty good keeping themselves safe.Newsom had been annoyed by photos in news reports last weekend that showed a bunch of people at Orange County beaches. “Those images are an example of what not to see…what not to do,” Newsom scolded.I’m no photo expert, but it should not need to be said that pictures from eye level might be misleading if you’re trying to determine how close together people are on a crowded beach. Aerial photos would be better (more on that in a second).It also should not need to be said that you cannot determine how different groups of people relate to each other just by looking at a photo. The kids playing together might actually be sisters. There’s a decent chance two people lying together on a towel might be an item and have presumably been quarantining together this entire time. And so on.Newport Beach officials had a good view of Newport Beach from Newport Beach — and said they “observed from land and by air was the vast majority of beach goers practicing social distancing.”Newport Beach officials posted aerial photos showing people safe distances apart. They also noted that when people violated social distancing procedures, deputies were there to remind them to break it up.Newport Beach was dealing with the situation in an entirely reasonable way. Apparently, Newsom had not bothered to ask.“Without speaking to a single local official in Newport Beach, Governor Newsom has put politics over data, and substituted his will for our judgment from 428 miles away in Sacramento,” tweeted Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill.Newsom had been expected to order a shutdown of all beaches statewide, but when word of his plans leaked and he started seeing negative coverage, he changed course and singled out Orange County.Even George Skelton, the venerable Los Angeles Times columnist, chided Newsom’s decision to close beaches, arguing that going to the beach is the “birthright” of Californians, adding “It’s our gift from the Creator — a trade-off for all the quakes, wildfires, mudslides and smog.”The entire episode started Wednesday night, when a TV reporter for Fox LA tweeted a statement from the California Police Chiefs Association to its members that said several officials in the Newsom administration — officials they mentioned by name – had told the group about Newsom’s plan to close all beaches.Naturally, it caused some confusion when on Thursday Newsom singled out Orange County. When asked about the change in position, Newsom swatted away the question and said this was always the plan and said he can’t speak to someone else’s memo (even though the memo cited his officials).As of this writing, Friday morning, Huntington Beach is planning to sue the state and Newport Beach has said it will defy Newsom’s order and keep its beaches open, while beefing up enforcement of social distancing.As much as Newsom says he is guided by “data” and “science,” he seems particularly guided by media pressure.Speaking of data and science, the prevailing opinion among public health experts is that the risk of infection decreases significantly outdoors. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but if people are being smart and safe they will likely not get infected just by passing by someone outside.It makes no sense that beaches and parks are all closed.An infectious disease researcher at Johns Hopkins told Slate “I would not worry about walking by someone,” while a team of experts at Harvard told the Washington Post that “outdoors, the virus quickly disperses in the air.”Shelter-in-place was necessary at the beginning to give states a chance to get a handle on the situation. Social distancing and proper precautions are still necessary as hospitalizations throughout Southern California are holding.But people are tired after six weeks of quarantine. Data shows that going outside is not only relatively safe in terms of COVID-19, but it’s also essential for mental health.Newsom would be better served using data to guide his decision making and not a few misleading photos and pressure from the media.
