We were back to our "normal" routine this week with the added bonus of enjoying the Christmas decorations and spirit. There has been an alarming increase in cases around the country, including in our state. There is a lot of concern that it will continue to get worse since many people still gathered with family and friends on Thanksgiving. The state in particular has been keeping a close eye on ICU bed availability knowing that in general in the winter there is an increase in need and that will be impacted but COVID patients. On Thursday the Governor implemented a new matrix that will determine when a region will need to go into more of a shutdown.
Our county has had relatively few hospitalization and ICU bed usage but we were included in the Southern California region (the state was divided into five). The Southern California region is struggling with ICU bed availability and as we anticipated as soon as the new matrix was announced, the region hit that mark Friday night, falling below 15% ICU bed availability. They gave us a 48 hour notice for additional restrictions such as playground being close, bars being close, restaurants being only take out only, stricter restrictions on the number allowed in a store at a time.
I will be honest, it is a bit confusing but we continue to follow the regulations as we understand them. We haven't eaten in a restaurant since Matt's birthday in February, we limit our trips to the store, and we try and avoid playgrounds when others are around. And of course, we wear masks. There are vaccines that they are just starting to distribute and we know we aren't in the first priority groups but will be on the lookout for our opportunity.
Almost nine months since that March 13th when everything really turned into a blur...
1 comment:
You are doing a wonderful job.
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