I live in Washington state, but I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to quarantine for three and a half weeks at my grandma’s vacation house in Palm, Desert, California. Now… stay-at-home orders for much of the West Coast have been in effect since mid to late March. I spent my first part of quarantine at home with my parents in Issaquah, Washington. I want to do a comparison of the two areas, because despite the West Coast being united, I feel like there are differences.

Washington’s Governor is Jay Inslee and so far, has been praised for how he is handling the COVID-19 outbreak. Washington was the initial epicenter of the virus for the United States, but since then has gotten a hold of the outbreak and Washington has even been able to send back ventilators that the state does not need. Recently, Inslee extended the stay-at-home order from May 4^th, 2020, to May 31, 2020. He also introduced a four-phase plan to start reopening the state. Each phase is projected to last three weeks before moving into the next. To get an idea, phase one includes resuming activities such as fishing, hiking, biking but still maintaining social distancing and phase two allows restaurants to reopen with limited capacity. It is important to note that wearing a mask out in public is not a requirement yet in Riverside county, it was.

Palm Desert falls under Riverside County, California and I was there from April 7^th to May 1^st. While I was there, masks were required when outside, whether that be grocery shopping or even walking around your community. Even when I would go on a run around the neighborhood, mask would be on. Another regulation imposed by the county was pool closures which was not surprising, but this was definitely the hardest part of the trip because when the temperature would reach upper 90’s and even in the hundreds a few times, you could not go to the pool. It wasn’t until April 28^th that the pools finally opened, but with rules and here is where it got funky. There were the obvious rules like don’t use the furniture, don’t bring your own furniture, maintain your distance, but there was one that stood out. There was a one-person pool policy, so only one person could be in the pool or hot tub at a time, even if you’ve been quarantining together. You could be a married couple or brother and sister, but you could not be in the pool at the same time. Golf courses and other recreational activities opened up that week too.

Moving forward, every state will move at its own pace and I would just say be aware of your surroundings.