SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Since Sacramento County implemented the “stay at home” order, many businesses deemed non-essential were advised to close their doors to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
One of those businesses, the West Wind Drive-In, shut down their business operations completely. However, after being closed for a week, they decided to open back up for business on Saturday night under some very strict guidelines.
There were three main rule changes:
- People must stay in their cars at all times.
- One person allowed in the restroom at a time, except with a child.
- Concessions are closed.
Many patrons were anxious to get out of the house on Saturday and partake in a safe outing with their family. Melanie Fisicaro drove all the way from Stockton to attend the drive-in.
“We like movies," said Fisicaro. "We haven’t been able to go to the movies lately. So this was a way to get out of the house and enjoy ourselves.”
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Fisicaro had no fears of being at the drive-in.
“I figure the amount of contact that we’ll have with people here will be slim to none," Fisicaro explained. "So I figure we should be pretty safe.”
During this time when only “essential businesses” are open to the public, many people are wondering how the drive-in would be considered an essential business in these circumstances. We reached out to the spokesperson for West Wind Drive-Ins, Tony Maniscalco, for a statement, but he never got back to us.
On Sacramento County’s website, they listed every essential business in the county, but movie theatres or drive-ins weren’t listed. In fact, entertainment is considered a non-essential business.
In the meantime, that didn’t stop many people from showing up to this drive-in on Saturday night.
“This is a good way to interact and still maintain our six feet apart thing,” stated Fisicaro.
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Some Lodi businesses are staying open despite stay-at-home orders for coronavirus prevention in California, saying they believe they are essential.