THIS WEEK in Scripps Ranch

THIS WEEK in Scripps Ranch

Hello Scripps Ranch,
We are in the week of May 3-9, 2020. Here is a little about this week:

This week is Small Business Week, National Wildflower Week, National Pet Week, National Hospital Week and Teacher Appreciation Week.
Sunday, May 3 is National Lumpy Rug Day, National Garden Meditation Day, National Two Different Colored Shoes Day, National Paranormal Day, National Chocolate Custard Day and National Lemonade Day.
Monday, May 4 is National Star Wars Day, National Weather Observers Day, National Orange Juice Day, Bird Day and Melanoma Monday.
Tuesday, May 5 is Cinco de Mayo, National Astronaut Day, National Cartoonists Day, National Totally Chipotle Day, National Hoagie Day and National Teacher Appreciation Day.
Wednesday, May 6 is National Nurses Day, National Beverage Day, National Crepe Suzette Day and National School Nurse Day.
Thursday, May 7 is National Roast Leg of Lamb Day, National Day of Prayer, National Day of Reason and World Password Day.
Friday, May 8 is National Coconut Cream Pie Day, National Have A Coke Day, National Student Nurse Day and National Military Spouse Appreciation Day.
Saturday, May 9 is National Lost Sock Memorial Day, National Butterscotch Brownie Day, National Sleepover Day, National Babysitter’s Day, National Dog Mom’s Day, National Train Day, National Archery Day, National Miniature Golf Day and Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day.

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COVID-19 cases in 92131
San Diego County reports the number of patients with the coronavirus in the 92131 ZIP Code area remains at 13. There were 71 cases in Mira Mesa and 32 cases in Poway so far. San Diego County reports the cases, broken down by residence listed for each patient. This information was included in the County’s report updated on Saturday morning.

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Celebrate virtual graduation 2020

Send a special message to your graduate to be published in the May issue of the Scripps Ranch News newspaper. Great for all ages from preschool promotions to college. FREE – 30 words or less plus a high-resolution photo. Deadline is May 15. Send to info@scrippsranchnews.com

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Confusion about Lake Miramar
Apparently some people have been visiting Lake Miramar and walking along its paths although it is still officially closed at this time. There has been some confusion as to what has reopened and what is still off limits as the City attempts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

While Lake Miramar is still closed, most city parks have been reopened for some activities. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced a limited reopening of neighborhood parks by individuals on April 20. Activities such as walking, jogging and bicycling are allowed. No active sports, organized activities or groups are authorized. Physical distancing rules must be followed, and face coverings are now required in accordance with County of San Diego directives. Parking lots remain closed and San Diegans are encouraged to visit the parks closest to them.

Beaches were re-opened last week for walking, surfing, jogging, fishing and swimming only. Visitors to Pacific Beach on Sunday, May 3, did well to keep their distance from others for the most part as they walked and jogged, although there were thousands of beachgoers in a never-ending procession along the shore. Sitting on the sand, loitering and group gatherings are not allowed. Beach parking lots in the city remain closed, so parking is a real challenge for beach visitors.

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Second week of distance learning
Monday marks the second week of official distance learning classes for students in the San Diego Unified School District. The school district has taken on an enormous task in attempting to provide some form of continued online education from home for students in San Diego. So far, some Scripps Ranch parents have noticed that teachers are arbitrarily changing class times, tests are not online when scheduled, Zoom classes have not started when scheduled and occasionally teachers lock out students who can’t access a Zoom class on time. These are just a few of the glitches but, again – to be fair – this is an enormous undertaking that has not been attempted on this scale before, so there are bound to be problems. Unfortunately, the system has proven to be inconsistent so far, sometimes due to teacher irregularities, and sometimes due to technical problems, according to several local parents.

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County expanding testing staff
Katie Cadiao of the County of San Diego Communications Office reported that the County’s Health and Human Services Agency will hire or retrain more than 500 staff to conduct COVID-19 testing and tracing as part of its efforts to fight the virus. The testing focus will be on at-risk populations, including residents in senior living facilities and low-income communities. The County will deploy mobile testing sites to at-risk communities. In addition to the new Live Well Bus, the County Library’s bookmobiles and other County vehicles will also be used as mobile testing sites soon. The County currently has a staff of more than 120 case and contact tracers who have conducted more than 4,000 COVID-19 investigations since the beginning of the public health crisis. Each confirmed positive case generates an average of three contact investigations.

The County is proposing to expand the number of contact tracers to 450 in the coming months. This pool of tracers will be made up of current County employees and external applicants.

The County also plans to hire an additional 200 public health nurses to help support the testing efforts. The region’s Laboratory Task Force has set a goal of testing 5,200 people a day, with that figure based on Harvard research being used by the federal and state government to set COVID-19 testing numbers.