When faced with big and nasty challenges like fighting off the current surges of local COVID-19 coronavirus cases there is no better motivator than a promise of a delicious reward just waiting for us at almost arm’s length. It’s like the child’s lollipop a doctor offers after a show of bravery for getting a measles shot.
For all of us, here in Sonoma County, our promised lollipop — once we tamp back the current coronavirus spike — will be a full season of open-air gatherings, celebrations, concerts, games and reunions. When we all wear our properly-fitted masks (N95 preferably), get vaccinated and get tested when necessary, we can all look forward to a full Sonoma County calendar of events that we hope will begin with the Feb. 18-21 Cloverdale Citrus Fair. Then, any of us who wants to pretend to be Irish for a day can march in the Healdsburg St. Patrick’s Day on March 17. In April, if we’re still looking for more fun rewards after two years of off-and-on quarantining, we can line up along Sebastopol’s Main Street for the Apple Blossom Parade.
From there, the 2022 calendar will keep rolling through other spring and summer festivals, plaza concerts, farmers markets and busier parks and sidewalks. Let’s hope some of us can gather for Windsor Days and the Healdsburg Future Farmers Country Fair in May and the Farm Trails’ Gravenstein Fair in August.
But remember, our passports to the return to “normal” living only gets stamped if we all tighten all our COVID-19 safety protocols, beginning today, right now.
The super-contagious omicron variant has led to a rapid doubling of cases here in just the last three weeks. County health officer Dr. Sundari Mase last week said daily cases are increasing at a rate higher than we experienced during the original pandemic outbreak in 2020 and above last year’s winter peak as well.
But there’s also good news because the new variant is not as virulent as previous strains and many disease experts are predicting the omicron wave may pass in just a few weeks if we follow the latest COVID-19 safety protocols.
Lately, knowing what COVID-19 rules to follow has been a challenge, as they seem to keep changing almost daily and in different places. We are told to do more testing but test kits or services are sometimes unavailable due to high demand and supply issues. One day schools are open and the next day public health officials say they might have to be closed. Homeless shelters this week have halted new intakes as omicron cases have spread among the facilities. We all know someone who had a recent positive test. The current outbreak has hit many households and almost all workplaces. But, as bad as the current spread of coronavirus cases looks, we can beat it.
Almost three-fourths of our county’s population is now fully vaccinated, including 99.9% of all people age 75 or older and 68.8% of youth, ages 12-15. This mass vaccination shield is our best hope for soon celebrating with each other under the open skies of parades and festivals. (By now, our unvaccinated population is mostly comprised of individuals who will never be swayed by community appeal or new facts.)
For just a little while longer, we all may need to stay home a little more, keep eating take-out and working remotely when we can. The strains of the novel coronavirus that sowed this historical global pandemic are still in charge of much of our lives. But since the first local cases here in March 2020, almost two years ago, we have learned many lessons of prevention and protection, almost mirroring the shared experiences we’ve gained on how to prevent or survive our next wildfire.
We can do this; we can once again be Sonoma Strong. And when we do, we will have lots of celebrations to attend.
