The last few weeks have been emotionally charged, to say the least, and I’ve been struggling to come up with just the right words to express my sadness, deep disappointment, and outrage at police brutality.
Many have asked me to share what I personally have been doing to keep myself healthy and protected given the current threat of COVID-19.
In addition to eating a whole foods organic diet with an emphasis on vegetables, keeping my stress levels as low as possible (via meditation, mindfulness, yoga, prayer, gratitude practice, etc.), moving/exercising every day for at least half an hour, getting a minimum of 7 hours of sleep each night, washing my hands, wearing a mask in public, and staying connected to friends, family and community, here are the immune supports that I have chosen for myself and would recommend for you.
Hold on tightly folks. Shelter-in-place and other restrictions imposed by state and local governments to slow COVID-19 are being loosened, and even lifted in some parts of California and the United States, without any comprehensive federal plan or testing strategy. At the federal level, chaos, lies, and gaslighting are preferred over planning, testing and leadership. Last week, Mr. Trump opined that COVID testing increases the number of novel coronavirus infections. This truly outrageous statement is beyond magical thinking. It is akin to suggesting there’s no need to use birth control to avoid pregnancy—instead, just skip the pregnancy test.
The pandemic has had a crushing effect on all of us and, like many of you, has caused me to take stock of my life and reflect deeply. Every day as I review medical reports, scientific data, studies and the real-world ramifications associated with COVID-19, I find myself asking: Can we ameliorate the many structural inequalities in our country that shouldn’t be ignored any longer while improving local and national health outcomes? How can we sharply reduce the likelihood of the next pandemic? And, do we as citizens have the political and cultural will to do something big with what seems like a once-in-a-century opportunity? My cautious answer to these questions is: with courage, we can!
I’m writing today about why wearing masks (almost any kind—even homemade) is an essential step in our war against COVID-19. Let me cut to the chase—MASKS MATTER: We all need to wear masks whenever we go out and we need to START NOW. What you have been hearing to the contrary is wrong. Here’s why mask wear can bring us back to some sense of normalcy sooner. Please help make this post go viral—we need to start a mass mask movement and demand that free masks be widely distributed ASAP.
First, I’d like to send all of you a giant virtual hug. We’re in this crisis together, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather do this with than all of you.
We’ve made it through our first full week of “shelter in place” here in San Francisco. More than that, the shelter in place order in San Francisco and other Bay Area counties, may have helped lead Governor Newsom to issue a similar statewide order last Thursday. These sweeping orders were designed to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) by forcing community-wide social distancing through April 7; however, our sourcs and recent comments by the Governor indicate that shelter in place is likely to be extended through most or all of April. It could be much worse: one family’s grandma grew up in Korea during the Korean War. When asked how she was coping with home quarantine here in the US, she said “Are you kidding” We were bombed everyday back hen, now I’m safe at home with wifi!”
Dear GetzWell Families and Friends,
I never thought I’d be drafting a message like this. GetzWell Pediatrics and your children have been my babies since we opened our doors in 2008 and we have every intention of being here long into the future. And, therein lies the challenge. Not only are we facing a pandemic globally, at GWP we are also managing a small business crisis. Since early March, our business and revenues have dropped precipitously. Just as we are here for our GetzWell community, we are asking for your immediate active support if you have any health care needs in the days ahead.
This is important new information about safety protocols and new services that we’re rolling out March 15, 2020 in response to the current pandemic. Please read this carefully and contact us if you have any questions.
The safety and wellness of our patients, parents, and staff are our #1 priority. Informatoin is evolving daily. For now, this is how we’ll be tackling care and safety in our San Francisco offices and in connection with newly expanded house calls and virtual visits.
As you are aware, the situation around the SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 crisis is continuing to rapidly evolve. Since my original article about COVID-19 dated February 29th scientists, medical professionals, and even mathematicians have been studying the situation. Communities are beginning to take decisive action, including canceling large group events and “social distancing” is becoming a major focus to avoid transmission of the virus.
If you’ve been to the store or looked online lately, you may have noticed that the virtual and real life shelves that used to be full of hand sanitizing products are bare. As one local store clerk remarked to me, “Panic buying is great for our business, but it’s terrible for the world.” So true. The person with a big stash of hand sanitizer might feel “prepared” for the COVID-19 pandemic after overbuying, but while that product just sits around in their cabinet, it’s not helping anyone.