Why Covid-19 is California awesome

At this important point in our country’s history, California has become a metaphor for wider developments taking place across the U.S.

The most populous state in the country is also the most diverse country, home to a wide range of cultures, ethnicities and economies. To the northern counties that voted red in the 2020 election and shared more sentiments with Dakotans than Los Angelenos. To the south, the border between the USA and Mexico where millions of immigrants have passed through at levels similar to Texas. And down the middle, the central enough, 450-mile Central Valley, where 40 billion pounds of milk, two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts, and a third of its vegetables are produced each year .

All three regions are essential to the history and identity of California. All three are hit hard by Covid-19.

Nationwide, case numbers have risen nearly 120 percent and deaths about 160 percent in just two weeks. In Per California’s latest round of Covid-19 restrictions, a stay-at-home order starts wherever ICU capacity – that is, the share of empty beds in intensive care units – dips under 15 percent, a milestone that Sacramento and Southern California have already reached. In San Joaquin County, a largely rural area in the heart of Central Valley, zero ICU beds were not available as they were last Saturday. Even San Francisco is expected to run out by the end of December. As told by Dr. Eyad Almasri, a pulmonologist working at UCSF Fresno Los Angeles Times, “We are saving lives. We cannot save everyone at once. “

While Covid-19 patients are hospitalized of all shapes and ages, some populations carry a portion of the disease burden that is unbalanced to their true size. In California, millions working on state farms, meat packing plants, and other food processing facilities – countless of color migration workers – are exposed to Covid-19 at much higher rates than those who can. operate comfortably from home or, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk did days ago, move comfortably. In the fields and factories where it is difficult to impose social speed, frequent hand washing and other safety instructions, and in the crowded homes and bedrooms where many migrant workers are forced to work. ‘live, the virus has much more room to grow. And because this virus cannot discriminate between working human hosts, an outbreak under adverse working conditions will find a way to spread into cities, suburban areas and beyond. .

In the rural country, the situation is not much better. Lassen County, where more Covid-19 cases per 100,000 were confirmed in the past week than anywhere else in the state, is struggling to hold a sustained uprising in the High Desert State Prison , where active issues are currently greater than those in local communities. About a fifth of the prison population has been positive for Covid-19, as are 160 employees. Given that Lassen County is also named the “strongest county” in California, meaning that residents voted for Trump with the widest margin in this year’s presidential election, it seems unlikely. such a popular public health measure as mascara wear. Rural communities in general are also experiencing higher incidences of chronic illness, smoking, obesity, and other ill health that increase vulnerability to true Covid-19, not to mention long-term fewer doctors and emergency care facilities than urban areas.

Now that the winter holidays are upon us – and with them, there will be a precarious increase in travel and indoor gatherings – the misinterpretation of public health protocols that have kept case accounts at a relatively low level in the fall is not. ‘proof enough. The 325,000 doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine received by California this week may help, but the jury is still out on whether it prevents the spread of the disease. Especially since California has fewer ICU beds per capita than most states, what the state needs while waiting for more vaccines is more public health intervention. stronger, more focused and more complete that will help those in need. The idea is not to force people to comply with stay-at-home orders and other restrictions, but to make the choice easier.

This month, health officials in Santa Clara County launched a door-to-door testing program in the East San Jose neighborhood, home to more than half of Latino residents. Bilingual volunteers distribute self-administered home exams to anyone who needs them, but with special consideration Latino communities have no way to test themselves. The California Department of Food and Agriculture is also expanding the Housing for Harvest program, an initiative to provide temporary housing options to agricultural and food processing workers if they become ill and have to separate themselves. In addition to having a hotel room while quarantined, participants will also receive food, wellness checks, and if needed economic support for family members at home. The program, introduced by Governor Gavin Newsom in July, is now underway in San Joaquin, Fresno, and other counties in the Middle Valley.

Now more than ever, even with a vaccine at hand, Covid-19 is coming out of control in the US. To keep it there, we need locks that are as magical as those installed in France and across Europe. But we also need public health interventions that support people who have difficulty accessing them on their own. They must be wide-ranging and, for recipients, either low-cost or completely free. Some individuals choose to voluntarily take public health guidance. As California Senator Richard Pan sent it to the Los Angeles Times, “We can’t save people from themselves after a certain time.” But the ones we can help, we should. As simple as that.