County marks 1 year coronavirus anniversary
Social media observances set for this week, capped by online vigil
Social media observances set for this week to be capped by “Day of Action” and online vigil.
Monterey County is observing the first anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic shelter-inplace order with a week-long series of online remembrances and calls for community participation.
The series will culminate with a “Day of Action” and a Natividad hospital-hosted virtual “candlelight vigil” for all those lost to the virus this weekend.
Dubbed the Monterey County shelter-in-place anniversary project, the initiative is aiming at “marking (the) milestone by reflecting on the challenges we faced, the bright spots during dark times, looking to the future and recovery, and engaging community conversation.”
Starting Monday, the county invited locals to share their thoughts on social media including the county’s Facebook page about the pandemic, including encouraging “good works and honoring those we lost.” It also highlighted local hospitals and honored frontline health care workers, as well as the local essential workforce, submitting vaccination stories, “acknowledging the mental and emotional toll of the pandemic by encouraging care and compassion,” and “looking ahead to recovery” by offering links to resources and inviting people to share their hopes for the future.
On Wednesday, the county’s weekly briefing was devoted entirely to looking back at a year of turmoil during the pandemic and efforts by local hospitals, the county Health and Behavioral Health departments, country employees, nonprofits, and the hospitality and agricultural industries to deal with the resulting crises.
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula infection prevention medical director Dr. Martha Blum noted the community is seeing a light at the end of a “very dark winter” in the midst of a year that saw “so much loss” including about 1,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 626 hospitalizations and 80 deaths with the virus since March last year at the local hospital. Blum also noted the economic, social and emotional loss as a result of the pandemic.
Natividad Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Walls noted the pandemic’s “huge toll” at the hospital and in the community that he said “will be with us for a while,” including
3,794 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 757 hospitalizations and 103 deaths with the virus over the past year at the hospital. At the same time, Walls noted an “unprecedented” level of cooperation between the four local hospitals and a new level of appreciation for the county Health Department and Public Health staff. He argued the pandemic “should have taught us about the fragility of our health care system” and the need to be prepared for the future.
Also Wednesday, representatives from United Way and Community Foundation for Monterey County, the Monterey County Hospitality Association and the Grower Shipper Association, and county human resources and emergency planning staff all weighed in on efforts to deal with the pandemic, the shelter-in-place shutdown and its impact.
Board of Supervisors chairwoman Wendy Root Askew praised the “heroic” response effort, while also noting the pandemic is still affecting the community with an economic “crisis” that has led to persistent food lines and increased homelessness including among school-aged children.
Asked if there was anything that could have been done to avoid or even lessen the shelter-in-place order and resulting shutdown impact on the community, County Administrative Officer Charles McKee noted the global range of approaches to combatting the virus and said there was “lots of opportunity to secondguess.” McKee also blamed the length and impact of the shutdown on a lack of adequate testing capacity and personal protective equipment, including face coverings, and the absence of “political will” to create and implement a “united community response” to the virus.
Saturday’s “Day of Action” will include encouraging people to “give back” to the community by finding a way to support those still in need, while Sunday’s online vigil will be held during a Facebook Live broadcast at 7:30 p.m. on the county’s page.
Meanwhile, during Tuesday’s county board meeting, the supervisors called for county health staff to report on the county’s effort to pursue state attestation for adding tens of thousands of migrant farmworkers who arrive for the spring season to the county’s population to determine state tier assignment affecting business and other activities, as well as vaccine allocation, and a developing testing expansion plan being created by a county COVID-19 collaborative testing workgroup.