SANTA CRUZ — Santa Cruz County health leaders Dr. Gail Newel, Dr. David Ghilarducci and Jen Herrera were told they could ride the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Giant Dipper rollercoaster as many times as they wanted from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on opening day Thursday. They settled for riding the attraction twice, Newel holding her hands in the air for the entire second ride — a victorious celebration.
“There was a long line of people with tickets, ready to go in,” the health officer said. “They were so excited to get on the rides. It’s perfect timing for spring break.”
Newel spoke with the Sentinel a few hours after she walked up the ramp and into the loading area of the Boardwalk’s most iconic ride, sailing through the air in her own train car on a beautiful, sunny day. Newel was the first to board the Giant Dipper since the Boardwalk’s one-weekend operation in November, an agreement that came of a joke made to Boardwalk spokesman Kris Reyes.
“He has been chairing the Economic Recovery Council that’s been meeting for over a year about helping businesses navigate all the changes (of the pandemic). I’ve been working with that group very closely so we got to know each other that way,” Newel explained. “About a month ago I was telling him that the state was working on guidance to open amusement parks … I teased him at that point and I said, ‘I want to be the first one on the Giant Dipper.’ He remembered.”
Newel and her comrades Ghilarducci and Herrera rode in their own cars with the president of the Beach Boardwalk, Karl Rice, all the while thinking of how the ride was a metaphor for what the community had gone through since March 2020.
“All the ups and downs, unexpected twists and turns … hopefully we are in the smooth ride back home,” Newel said, referencing the last few seconds of the Giant Dipper’s trajectory when the cars slow down and roll back into an area designated for entry and exit. “That’s what I’m hoping.”
Newel said the ride brought back childhood memories, days when her family would escape the hot summer afternoons in Fresno and move to the coast to cool down at the oceanside. Now, she’s a regular when visitors are in town. When the health officer was younger, she enjoyed the old funhouse, relics of which sit in the Haunted Castle ride to the left of the establishment’s main entrance.
“I do love the Giant Dipper, but I also love the carousel because of its history,” Newel said. “There are still rings you can grab and throw into the clown’s mouth. It’s such a fun twist to the typical carousel.”
Newel’s favorite Boardwalk treat is a Dole Whip float.
“It has to be in the pineapple juice,” she insisted.
Newel said that while it’s important everyone remains vigilant with social distancing efforts, the reopening of the Boardwalk is an important step to recovery from the damage done by this health crisis.
“Even if people are experiencing it vicariously, it’s an optimistic, hopeful symbol, she said.
More hope comes in the form of news Newel received from authorities at the state and federal levels in the last 24 hours, she shared.
First, it was shared with local health officers Wednesday night that the 120-mile provision would be removed from the state’s current travel advisory, making it acceptable to travel within the state as long as a 10-day quarantine was initiated in the case travelers left the state or country. This has yet to be published on the California Department of Public Health website, Newel said.
Then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that vaccinated people do not transmit the COVID-19 disease to other people.
“That’s going to change some of the thinking in the guidance coming forward,” Newel said.
More than 156,000 shots had gone into the arms of Santa Cruz County residents according to the CDPH’s chart Thursday afternoon. The chart does not indicate which of the shots were first shots and which were second shots.
Temporary loss of data
The Sentinel could not obtain updated information around case, hospitalization, testing and death data because the county’s COVID-19 dashboard has not been updated since Tuesday.
The county issued a statement to the press Thursday afternoon crediting “an allowance for necessary data cleaning.” Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency health educator Tara Leonard, who is filling in for county spokesman Jason Hoppin this week, explained there are always minor discrepancies and delays in case counts and the county’s epidemiological staff needs to resolve the discrepancies before posting.
Daily updates will resume Monday, Leonard said in an email.
The state’s hospitalization dashboard is still live and shows that two hospitalized patients are COVID-19-positive; one of the patients is in the ICU. Eight ICU beds are available.
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‘The smooth ride back home’: Local health leaders enjoy victorious ride on Santa Cruz Boardwalk’s Giant Dipper - Santa Cruz Sentinel
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