Spindrift April 2, 2020
Hi All, I hope you are all well, healthy, virus-free and sheltering, adhering to the restrictions while getting to know your wife, kids, and grandkids again.
Yesterday the FOH Committee met via a conference call that was well prepared and conducted by Richard Swinney. The 2020 FOH was sadly canceled, the second fund-raising event that has been canceled this year due to circumstances beyond our control. Yet the groups to which we contribute continue their services and the attendant expenses still rely upon ECNH to support them so they may serve the needy in our community.
So, what do we do? Become more stringent in whom we fund? Reduce the amount per group? Invade our investment account? To what extent? Create other fundraising events? Do nothing the remainder of this fiscal year? Your officers are wrestling with these questions individually, by telephone, by email all the while hoping to begin our regular meetings again.
One thing I know is that we should not do nothing while riding out this pandemic. In the days ahead, your Club’s Executive Committee, with the support of your Board, will begin developing a strategy to move forward. Our Club has a tremendous history and a well-earned reputation for helping those in need. Now more than ever, we need to stay true to our Mission and the goals that have guided us for over 60 years. Your Club will begin mapping a course to ensure it remains a vibrant and contributing member of our community during this difficult time. By President Ken DuFour
CORONA Virus: what we should have all been doing...
I think we all have been exposed to the media’s response to what may become another of the defining events of our lifetime. Frankly, I have been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information (and misinformation) that we are being fed; the landscape is changing on at least a daily basis. We are in the midst of a steadily increasing spread in cases of COVID-19 in this country, as well as locally in Orange County, and we can expect this to continue for a few weeks (or months). What is extremely important to realize is that, despite the increase, our efforts to mitigate the spread of this virus are working and will continue to work. I am showing here excerpts of an article written by Jonathan Smith, an epidemiologist at the Yale University School of Public Health. He states that the COVID-19 pandemic is following a normal trajectory, i.e., that we will see an increase in cases and deaths over the coming weeks, which may lead people to believe, erroneously, that social distancing is not working. Social distancing does work.
“One phenomenon involving social distancing is that, whereas there is decreased contact with members of society (as a whole), it typically increases contacts with family members and very close friends. Even if there is only a little bit of connection between groups (i.e. social dinners, playdates/playgrounds, seemingly small social chains get large and complex, with alarming geometric speed. As an example, if your son visits his girlfriend, and you later sneak off for coffee with a neighbor, your neighbor is now connected to the infected office worker that your son’s girlfriend's mother shook hands with. By ‘breaking the chain’ anywhere along the line, we are breaking disease transmission along that chain. It is hard to conceptualize how, on a population level, ‘one quick little get-together’ can undermine the entire framework of a public health intervention, but it does. We need to FOLLOW THE RULES, now and in the foreseeable future. We cannot become complacent.”
The following is a shortlist of very important rules that we need to continue to follow if we, as a society will beat the virus:
Social Distancing: Staying home, going out only when necessary for food, exercise. Avoiding contact with family members, close friends, i.e. who do not reside in the same household… Six feet or more distancing between other individuals.
Personal Hygiene: If you are sick or have symptoms, STAY HOME. Contact your physician for instructions if you have symptoms. DO NOT go to the ER, Urgent Care, or doctor’s office unless directed to do so by your physician. Wash hands, avoid touching the face, use hand sanitizer.
Mental Health: Try to avoid being inundated with news from the talking heads. Rely on more trusted sources (CDC, OCHD Updates) Contact family, close friends more frequently by phone, email, social media platforms.
Finally, we will get through this; stay the course, and stay healthy!