Unless you live under a rock you know why this prayer has been on my mind the last few days. Coronavirus COVID-19 is a reality and it will affect everything we do as individuals and as a community. Rabbi Dean and I co-wrote a letter to the membership recently describing some (hopefully temporary) changes we have agreed to regarding our practices.
How each of us reacts personally affects all of us a community. We Jews have always valued study and education, and so we must choose to educate ourselves on this new reality with truth. There are a lot of rumors out there, especially on social media.
I am going to share some information from Juliana Grant, MD, MPH. She is an epidemiologist licensed to practice in California and Washington (State) and was the Centers for Disease Control assignee to the California Office of AIDS (julianagrant.com). How bad is this going to be? It’s possible that COVID-19 will be similar to a bad flu year but there are a number of indications that it will be very much like the 1918 Flu Pandemic. To put that in perspective, the 1918 flu did not end civilization as we know it but it was the second-deadliest event of the last 200 years. It is likely that people you know will die from COVID-19.
However, there is one critical difference between COVID-19 and the 1918 flu – the 1918 flu virus hit children and young adults particularly hard. COVID-19 seems to be most severe in older adults. Children and young adults generally have mild infections and we are grateful for this.
What can we expect? This is not the zombie apocalypse. Core infrastructure (e.g., power, water, supermarkets, internet, government, etc.) will continue to work, perhaps with some minor disruptions.
There will be significant economic disruption: a global recession is very possible and there will probably be significant shortages of some products. The healthcare system will be hit the hardest. The number of people who are likely to get sick is higher than our healthcare systems can probably handle.
Daily life will be impacted in important ways. Travel is likely to be limited and public gatherings will probably be canceled. Schools will probably be closed. Expect health departments to start issuing these orders in the near future, especially on the West Coast.
The acute pandemic will probably last at least for several months and quite possibly for a year or two.
What can we do? We can’t keep COVID-19 from being a global pandemic but the more we can do to slow the spread of the disease, the less severe the impact will be. With that in mind, here are the things you can do:
Stay calm but take it seriously. This will likely be bad but it’s not the apocalypse.
Stay home if you’re sick or someone in your house is sick.
Leave medical supplies for healthcare workers. You shouldn’t bestockpiling masks or other medical supplies. They are needed in hospitals to keep our healthcare workers healthy.
Minimize your exposure. Now that we’re seeing community transmission in the U.S., it’s probably time to start cutting back on your exposure to other people. Depending on your circumstances, consider:
Canceling non-essential travel
Avoiding large-scale gatherings
Working from home if possible
Minimizing direct contact with others including handshakes and hugs
Reducing your trips out of the house. If possible, shop for two weeks of groceries at once or consider having your groceries delivered.
Stay home and cook instead of going to a restaurant.
Remember, keep calm and prepare. This is likely to be bad but if we respond calmly and thoughtfully we can handle it.
We can, and will get through this together. Do be aware, do be concerned and do be careful.
From the President – March 5, 2020
March 5, 2020 by tbhrich •
Unetaneh Tokef. Who will live and who will die.
Unless you live under a rock you know why this prayer has been on my mind the last few days. Coronavirus COVID-19 is a reality and it will affect everything we do as individuals and as a community. Rabbi Dean and I co-wrote a letter to the membership recently describing some (hopefully temporary) changes we have agreed to regarding our practices.
How each of us reacts personally affects all of us a community. We Jews have always valued study and education, and so we must choose to educate ourselves on this new reality with truth. There are a lot of rumors out there, especially on social media.
We can, and will get through this together. Do be aware, do be concerned and do be careful.
We are what we do.