As California struggles to deal with the fall wave of the Wuhan coronavirus, "nonessential" businesses in San Diego County are preparing to enter the purple tier of Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) COVID-19 tiered reopening.
The county's public health officer, Dr. Wilma Wooten, said the county would be headed into the purple tier, the most restrictive tier of the reopening plan. Businesses with indoor operations must move to outdoor-only, and other venues like amusement parks and sporting events with live audiences are canceled.
When the county moves to the purple tier just after midnight on Friday, the San Diego Air & Space Museum is supposed to close. CEO Jim Kidrick, however, said that won't be happening.
Kidrick said he alerted the museum's board members to his decision and asked them to bail him out of jail should he get arrested.
"I had many of our board members come and said they would stand by you so if they come and cuff you, they'll cuff us also because it’s now beyond logic. It’s now beyond common sense and once again, this is no longer just about science and data," Kidrick told KUSI-TV. "It’s about something else and it’s very, very unfortunate, as we close ourselves down, we now risk the security of our families. This is about jobs. It’s about life for all of them."
The CEO slammed Newsom's order, saying the state has redefined what it means to be an "essential business."
"I think we have totally destroyed the definition of essential. If you can go to Harbor Freight Tools and buy tools, you can come here and help your child, or your grandchild, be educated, and learn because education is one of our primary missions, and we do it every day."
San Diego Air & Space Museum CEO, Jim Kidrick, will keep the museum open, defying state orders to close.
— KUSI News (@KUSINews) November 11, 2020
"As we close ourselves down, we now risk the security of our families. You know, this is about jobs, about life for all of them."
Full Interview: https://t.co/LVdIdBlqtZ pic.twitter.com/K7c3y8nLxv