This Friday, the Democratic Club is presenting a video which explores the origins of COVID-19, how it compares to the 1918 Spanish Flu, what the future holds regarding vaccines, what is the likelihood of new spikes in transmission and how we might deal with them. This is a listen and learn session to help us assess what we are dealing with and whether we are addressing it adequately.Understanding how we are feeling about the pandemic and the local approach to managing it may help us to answer the survey question that was presented at last week’s meeting. The question was “If in-person meetings were reconvened in July, would you attend, or do you prefer to continue our meetings online?”
So, bring your questions and help us assess what we should be doing. Working together, we will all be better informed. In addition, your input will help us assess how we should collectively respond in this moment.
Join us this Friday, June 12, at noon online for our weekly Democratic Club meeting. If you are not on our list to receive the invitation, please email your request to mrmiranda@gmail.com to be added to the list.
Some Perspective
On May 1, Governor Little began his phased approach to reopening the state. Thirty days later, we are now witnessing increasing numbers of people gathering in public spaces and patronizing private businesses. However, as restrictions have lifted many seem to have forgotten that the virus has not been eradicated and that we are still in a pandemic. Furthermore, the majority seem to be ignoring the recommended six feet of social distance and the use of face masks while engaging in public activities. Perhaps the reason people do not take the issue seriously is because they are not experiencing it firsthand. In other words, most people do not know a single person sickened with COVID-19. Yet plenty of people have lost their jobs or businesses. How does a mask help that?
Therefore, there is more at stake than just protecting public health. There is no question that the economy has taken a severe hit and we should not be surprised that people are eager to get back to work or reopen their businesses. The question is how to safely protect public health until an effective vaccine is widely available.
As of May 5, 2020, the Idaho Division of Public Health reported 60 COVID-19 cases in Kootenai County. Now, thirty days later, the number of reported cases is 80. This increase of 20 cases in 30 days represents a 33% increase in detected infections. Is this simply a result of more testing or has our local rate of infection increased? In other words, have we reached the point in this pandemic where we find this infection rate acceptable?
