LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
The COVID-19 Pandemic
Calls for Patience, Not Panic
PHOTO BY TERENCE DUFFY
W
hen I first heard the coronavirus had arrived in the
United States, I presumed, like many of you, that it was a
serious threat. After all, the deadly nature of COVID-19,
the disease caused by the coronavirus, had already been reported
from China. But it was also easy in those first days to presume it
could be contained or isolated to the hot spots where it had been
transported by international travelers.
But, as we all know, the virus quickly asserted itself as the
most virulent threat to worldwide public health in a century,
rivaling the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. As the coronavirus
began to spread from both sides of the country like a prairie
wildfire, government officials were faced with a dilemma. To
prevent the massive death toll that countries like China and
Italy already had, they had to set proverbial backfires to slow
the spread.
Some people may see the shelter-in-place orders and the
closing of nonessential businesses as a choice between the
lesser of two evils: save lives or save the economy. But public
health and the health of the economy are tied together, espe-
cially in an economy driven by consumer demand. Saving lives
in the short term is the only way to preserve our economic
health in the long run.
There is no doubt about the economic pain the coronavi-
rus has caused in the Capital Region and across the world. To
an extent, there are aspects of our region’s economy that help
cushion the blow. Many people who provide professional ser-
vices and government employees are still drawing paychecks
while they work from home. Homebuilding continues since
construction work, a growing segment of our economy, is ex-
empt from stay-at-home orders. Some essential services, such
as grocery stores, are keeping their doors open and are even
hiring additional workers to stock shelves.
Even so, there is no denying the extent of hardship
caused by closing down the economy. Among the hardest hit
are people who work in the service industry — retail shops,
hospitality and restaurants — and small-business owners.
When the City of Sacramento began offering loans to small
businesses after sheltering in place was ordered, it was over-
whelmed by more than 3,000 applications for the few loans
that were available.
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Secu-
rity Act aims to help get small businesses through the short
term. Among its $2.2 trillion worth of provisions, CARES boosts
unemployment benefits for laid-off workers and, according to
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, provides California with up to
$48 billion in government-guaranteed loans for small busi-
nesses, which will be forgiven if the money is used for operating
expenses and paying employees through June.
The distance between Sacramento and Washington, D.C.,
has never been shorter, as business and government work
together during this crisis. I have great faith in our country and
our people, and I believe the economy is going to surge when
COVID-19 is under control.
Entrepreneurs are an underlying strength of our region’s
economy, and they are stepping up to get us through the pan-
demic. Repkord, a 3D printing company in Auburn, for example,
with the help of Hacker Lab in Rocklin and Titans of CNC, is
making face shields for health care workers using material from
West Sacramento’s Professional Plastics. Dry Diggings Distillery
in El Dorado Hills and Sacramento-based Pacific Ethanol are
transforming their unused alcohol into hand sanitizers. That
kind of attitude and innovation gives me confidence about our
economic recovery in the long term, even if it might take many
months.
As I write this, California announced a record number of
applications for unemployment. And while there is evidence
that sheltering in place is working, there is a possibility that
another surge of the virus may come. By the time you read this,
we will have a better idea of how we are faring and how much
longer it will go on.
We are all in this together, even if we are 6 feet apart from
each other. With patience, not panic, we can flatten the curve,
and we will rebuild our economy.
Winnie Comstock-Carlson
President and Publisher
May 2020 | comstocksmag.com
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