[Goose]

If all you're worried about is total deaths, then of course, you stay locked down for as long as possible.  You naturally should get better "numbers" from that approach.  That appears to be what our person has opted to do.

I'm not a resident of Santa Clara County, but I'm pretty sure you are not locked down, and as a newly-minted member of the "orange" tier, I am fairly certain that you now have fewer restrictions than I do in San Mateo county (currently in "red").  And yet, I can, if I want, walk freely around my neighborhood, use outdoor recreational facilities, visit my barbershop (as long as some modifications are met), shop (as long as the shop is at  50% of capacity), visit shopping centers (again, with some modifications), visit museums, zoos, or acquariums (with indoor activities limited to 25% of capacity), visit my place of worship (as long as there are 99 or fewer other people in there and it is at 25% of capacity), and even visit a movie theater.  There's a big difference between a lockdown and restrictions designed to minimize superspreader events.

BC

All true, but what you are also talking about and benefiting from is the fact that San Mateo County has very aggressively lifted restrictions as soon as they "legally" could, while Santa Clara County has not in general. Dr. Morrow has been bitterly critical of Newsom for taking away his power to decide what to open, and has opened every thing he could open as fast as he could open it. I myself think Dr. Morrow was a bit behind the curve about what was going on in the county this summer. The numbers turned out worse than he thought when the reporting errors were corrected. That said, the crowds at Zotts didn't come from San Mateo County mostly. That creek works medical miracles.

[Goose]

If all you're worried about is total deaths, then of course, you stay locked down for as long as possible.  You naturally should get better "numbers" from that approach.  That appears to be what our person has opted to do.

I'm not a resident of Santa Clara County, but I'm pretty sure you are not locked down, and as a newly-minted member of the "orange" tier, I am fairly certain that you now have fewer restrictions than I do in San Mateo county (currently in "red").  And yet, I can, if I want, walk freely around my neighborhood, use outdoor recreational facilities, visit my barbershop (as long as some modifications are met), shop (as long as the shop is at  50% of capacity), visit shopping centers (again, with some modifications), visit museums, zoos, or acquariums (with indoor activities limited to 25% of capacity), visit my place of worship (as long as there are 99 or fewer other people in there and it is at 25% of capacity), and even visit a movie theater.  There's a big difference between a lockdown and restrictions designed to minimize superspreader events.

BC

All true, but what you are also talking about and benefiting from is the fact that San Mateo County has very aggressively lifted restrictions as soon as they "legally" could, while Santa Clara County has not in general. Dr. Morrow has been bitterly critical of Newsom for taking away his power to decide what to open, and has opened every thing he could open as fast as he could open it. I myself think Dr. Morrow was a bit behind the curve about what was going on in the county this summer. The numbers turned out worse than he thought when the reporting errors were corrected. That said, the crowds at Zotts didn't come from San Mateo County mostly. That creek works medical miracles.