According to the County of San Diego, on Aug. 25 there were 4,750 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Chula Vista. In National City, 1,369.
On Monday, 4,715 in Chula Vista, 1,363 in National City.
Sunday, 4,671 in Chula Vista, 1,356 in National City.
Saturday, 4,649 and 1,348.
By now you should get the idea. Lately — for the last seven months of the year, actually — it seems as though there has been no direction but up for two of South County’s strong and resilient cities.
An upward trend might be something to brag about when we’re talking about median home values or unemployment figures, but when it comes to a debilitating airborne virus that is not completely understood by virologists, epidemiologists and doctors, up is bad. Very bad.
The statement of obvious fact is not a cudgel intended to beat fear into the psyche of those who will listen.
It is a reminder that South County, home to a multitude of multi-hued households, where English may be the second language of choice, has been disproportionately wounded by COVID-19.
It is a bit of information that can be helped to craft decision making in the future.
On the whole, I choose to believe those in government have acted in the best interest of our communities. From the county’s Dr. Wilma Wooten and her frequent updates and reccommendations, to National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo Solis’s bold mandate that everyone in her city wear masks in public to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
With the exception of those few but influential electeds who would put the needs of commerce above the public good by advocating a rush to “business as usual,” I choose to believe that government has been doing its best to act on behalf of everyone’s best interest.
As November approaches and a changing of the guard of public health and prosperity looms, would-be policymakers should be pressed into addressing how they would advance a way out of this local crisis and how they would prevent South County from being so drastically victimized again.
Access to affordable comprehensive healthcare, livable wages and affordable housing are some of the reasons Chula Vista and National City are in such dire circumstances. What will the new batch of representatives do to fix it?
