As COVID-19 explodes, was California too strict for its own good? FacebookTwitterEmail Once seen as a model for managing the pandemic, California is now in crisis. How did it all go wrong for the state that issued the nation's first stay-at-home order in March and imposed some of the country's toughest restrictions? One possible explanation: The state and its counties have been too strict for their own good. "A significant number of people have lost faith in the public health guidance and don’t know what to believe anymore," said Daniel Kotzin, a member of two advocacy groups hoping to reopen schools and businesses in San Francisco. "One part of it is when our leaders say one thing and do another, and another part is it’s just been so strict with no escape valve and people can’t do it anymore. For over nine months we’ve been locked up with constantly shifting goalposts."