Blue Wave News
Friday, July 30th, 2020
DR. Andrea LaCroix Reminds Us That, Yes, We Are Still In A Pandemic
by Cori Wilbur
With regard to the coronavirus, as places start to open up, we will be faced with the worst part of the pandemic yet because of the increased mobility of the population. According to Dr. Andrea LaCroix, Chief of Epidemiology at UCSD, we are at the end of the beginning of the pandemic.
Dr. LaCroix affirmed that North County is “a part of an area where this epidemic is not at all gone.” She acknowledged that the disease does manifest more severely in older citizens. However, she emphasized that we all need to still be careful.
She projected that an average number of 900 to 1000 Americans die each day due to coronavirus. “I think that’s a high number,” she continued. “I don’t understand why 1000 deaths a day isn’t more meaningful to people these days.” As of right now, San Diego is at about 9000 confirmed cases and a little over 300 deaths. We also cannot ignore that Black people faced a higher proportion of infection than any other race or ethnicity.
The truth is that nobody really knows what is going to happen in the future. We were able to flatten the curve because of the lockdown but as things open up again, we will assuredly face another spike. Dr. LaCroix pointed out that she does not think the government will be able to enforce another lockdown. “We’re going to have to decide whether we stay at home ourselves and not depend on the government to tell us to do that,” she said. She also stressed the importance of still practicing social distancing until effective treatments and vaccines are in place.
There are two main ways we know that the virus spreads: human to human transmission and contact with secretion on surfaces. Dr. LaCroix stated that the latter seems to be what most people worry about when we should be focused on the former. She said that she does not wipe down groceries or packages but does avoid human contact.
(continued in next column)
Pandemic, cont'd
To stay safe, Dr. LaCroix reiterated the need to stay home as much as possible, especially if you are over 50 or have a preexisting condition. Moreover, she said that if you must go to a restaurant, eat outside, and always wear a mask when you leave the house.
However, Dr. LaCroix does maintain that she does do her own grocery shopping. “I think it is not social justice for us to depend on people less fortunate than us to bring us groceries,” she said.
“That’s the risk I really feel is important to share.”
Moreover, if Orange County decides to not enforce mask wearing, that decision will most likely affect San Diego and contribute to a spike in cases, particularly in Oceanside and North County. “It is really a shame that mask wearing and the epidemic itself have been so politicized,” she said.
“Every time you have large groups of people saying ‘I don’t want to do that, that’s too inconvenient for me, you can’t make me do that,’ their behavior affects everybody,” she affirmed. Since this is a social pandemic, we need to get everybody on board to care.
Keeping Up The Good Fight - Postcards-To-Voters At ENCDC
A shout out to our postcard writing team of nearly
30 volunteers writing the Be A Voter postcards to voters in AZ, IA and now Alaska. So far they have sent out over 960 postcards, with more to come! Arrangements can be made with Nancy Hardwick to either pick up cards or have them dropped off.
As for "New VOTE" Postcards,
the cards are being printed and will be delivered before the end of the month. Narima Lopes has ordered
the postage. Volunteers will be needed to help prepare the volunteer packets with 25 cards in each packet, along with the stamps, names/addresses and instructions. Distribution of the packets will come in early September, with a mail date in mid-September.
At least 10 more volunteers could be useful. Check in with Nancy if you want to join this effort.
Indivisible49 Reminds Us:
It Is Time To Reach Out To Voters
A mailing Thursday from Indivisible49 makes clear that "Crunch Time" is upon us with respect to the upcoming election.
In our own backyard, Mike Levin's district, CA-49, is under attack with a misinformation campaign by his opponent.
Luckily there are several ways we can help. Indivisible plans to phonebank, textbank, drop off door hangers, mail postcards, and anything else they can think of to make sure we keep CA49 blue. We are invited to participate in any of these activities.
Indivisible49's mailings and website are a good link to other ways to get involved and other campaigns to work on. We highly recommend checking their site out, and connecting.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT CONGRESSMAN LEWIS
In an op-ed published this morning in the New York Times, Lewis has laid the gauntlet at our feet. A man who has faced a lifetime of challenges, comes to the recognition that there are challenges a-many on our way to the "More Perfect Union" we seek, but has seen first-hand a nation willing to take up those challenges.
In a nearly weeklong celebration of his life and works, Lewis has traveled to Alabama to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge one last time, to Washington DC, and finally back to his home in Georgia for a gangbuster funeral attended by all former Presidents except for Jimmy Carter. Carter recorded a message for the ceremony, as at his age, travel is too difficult.
Coinciding with these activities, a bill initially sponsored by Lewis, is making its way through Congress that would restore voting rights law and its enforcement back to the point where the law was enacted back in the 1960s. There is a move to name the bill after the late Congressman.
Nation Says Goodbye to John Lewis
