Since last spring, the number of coronavirus-related deaths among Marin residents has significantly slowed, but its recent reach to 200 serves as a sad reminder of the cost of the spread of this historic pandemic.
Marin’s high vaccination rate and its residents obeying virus-preventing protocols has kept the local death rate well below other communities, but COVID-19 has taken a dear toll here, taking the lives of family, friends and neighbors.
Across our nation, COVID-19 infections have contributed to the deaths of 844,000 people. That number has been growing with the spread of the omicron variant.
But Marin residents’ conscientious commitment to recommended preventive measures, from getting vaccinated to wearing masks, has saved us from the crowded hospitals and death rates that have been reported in other states.
That’s why the county’s decision to allow first responders, in hospitals and in the field, to stay on the job after testing positive for COVID-19 is a troubling strategy.
Those workers have to be asymptomatic and are being told to wear N95 respirator masks while on the job.
Still, having infected workers on the job instead of being quarantined runs counter to the drumbeat of precautions we’ve been carefully following over nearly two years.
The change complies with the state’s short-term orders, issued because of personnel shortages, especially in hospitals.
Dr. Matthew Willis, the county public health chief, says the order will be followed on a day-by-day basis.
The reception that order has received has been wary, especially among workers. Due to federal privacy laws, they and patients may not be advised that infected workers are on the job with them.
Early on, the message and community caution has been clear and consistent. That’s why it has been effective.
Medical health leaders were worried that because such a large percentage of Marin’s residents are more than 60 years old, they were prime candidates for severe reaction to contracting coronavirus.
In fact, more than three-quarters of Marin deaths have been people over age 75. Most of those deaths in Marin – 173 – came before February 2021 when vaccines became available. No Marin resident under the age of 35 has died from the virus.
Marin leads the state in the percentage of its population that has been vaccinated – with at least one inoculation. That nearly 94% have gotten at least one shot has made a huge difference in helping curtail the virus’ spread and severity.
That Marin’s Black population lags behind the countywide percentage with 27% still unvaccinated needs to be raised as an important goal in bolstering greater awareness about the real health risks of not getting inoculations, especially given the threat of omicron’s spread.
Getting the vaccine is a proven way to keep yourself and others safe.
Outreach and getting people vaccinated has been more successful in Marin’s Latino community, which early on had reported far more than its share of coronavirus infections.
Unfortunately, the spread of the coronavirus is still before us. It is far from a distant memory. Many of us are still being extra careful.
If the risk of death and serious illness have been lowered to levels where we can relax once-critical safeguards, that’s not the message we are getting from reports across the nation – even around the world.
That’s what puzzling about the state’s order. And keeping uninfected co-workers, patients and others in the dark seems to contradict precautions we’ve been urged, if not ordered, to take for months.
There are some hopeful signs, but the milestone of 200 local deaths reminds us of the lives lost. We must recommit ourselves to scientifically proven measures that help save lives – for ourselves and others.
