Responsible Re-opening – Danger vs Destitution

UPDATE- April 21, 2020 – After The Vote

Sierra County New Mexico still has ZERO Covid-19 cases, is home to Truth or Consequences and the NM State Veteran’s Home which is the only Nursing Home for Veteran’s in the State. The three, all Republican, County Commissioners just voted unanimously in support of the plan to immediately Re-Open Non-Essential businesses.

Commissioner Day expressed concern that the State’s Protective Measure cure is worse than the disease, fearing the fallout from the severe economic hardship, in a County that was struggling, even before the Pandemic. The plan, drafted by the New Mexico Business Coalition at the urging of GOP and Rep. Steve Pearce, has created clear political sides to a public health issue that threatens both parties equally.

Politics have no place in this, we must come together collectively to find solutions to these incredibly complex and unprecedented problems. There are solutions and ways to work within the restrictions to keep our small businesses, desperate individuals and struggling families afloat. We must be willing to set our differences aside for them to succeed. I sincerely hope to inspire unified solutions in Truth or Consequences and beyond .

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ORIGINAL POST – APRIL 19, 2020

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For those that don’t know me, I am confident that my history and experience will confirm that I am a voice for business, especially the types of businesses New Mexico Business Coalition’s “Get Back To Business Plan” is designed to help re-open, preserve and protect in Sierra County. Before I was a small business owner in Truth or Consequences, I was a Real Estate Broker, the General Manager of Sierra Grande Lodge & Spa and President of MainStreet T or C. I own and operate a Wellness Center, which is the exact type of business this proposal hopes to assist. 

In addition to being a small business owner, I also have ALS, which is a disease that has significantly diminished my lung capacity complicated by reactivated viral and bacterial infections. I can personally relate, not only to all of the hardships that the State’s Protective Measures have created but also all of the threats that they are designed to protect us from. My unique experience has given me an equally unique perspective, and I am asking you to please consider it before you vote April 21st to adopt the plan for Sierra County.

With zero cases of Covid-19, Sierra County is a shining star in the New Mexico Coronavirus fight!

I am SO grateful and relieved that Sierra County is doing so good and New Mexico is doing relatively well in the Coronavirus fight. Yay us!! It feels amazing to finally be ranked on the right side of a national scorecard, especially one measuring something as important and irreversible as unnecessary death. I know that the restrictions New Mexico has put into place feel outrageous but we actually ranked 33rd, when it comes to just how aggressive our those measures are, so we are still on the bottom half of that one.

These protective (social distance/stay-at-home) measures are being taken to ensure that the existing healthcare infrastructure can handle the inevitable increased demand, that this novel Coronavirus creates. Taking that into consideration, the most important ranking, is that of our Healthcare and Infrastructure Risk Factors, where we come in at a chilling, second to the lowest.  

Sierra County’s unique population and attractions, requires special consideration.

Sierra County is very different from the rural locations the “Get Back to Business Plan” was designed for, in a few, key ways. While our proximity to a major metropolis and population technically match, the reality is that we are a very large tourist and vacation/second home destination, drawing in a large number of people from the very locations that are being hit the hardest with infections and we have a population that is largely elderly and at-risk.

When attempts to solve problems, can do more harm than good.

I could not agree more that it is absolutely necessary to resume medical procedures that are preventative and not just acute (life threatening), as soon as possible. The fact that there is a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment for the life threatening (acute) cases, is what is preventing the non-essential medical appointments from happening now. 

By potentially creating more cases of life threatening illness, we are actually extending the time that preventative procedures are not available. Personally, I trust our Doctors and Medical Professionals to determine whether individual cases are acute or not and which cases require tests and treatment to save lives. Right now the determination of how threatening a situation is vs the resources available is left up to the Doctors and Medical Professionals, as it should be.

The extremely fragile balance of New Mexico’s already struggling healthcare system needs to be protected and maintained by the appropriate entities. At a time when we are relying upon the medical system in unprecedented ways, this is even more important. I do not think that local governmental bodies, business coalitions or either Political Party is in a position to interfere in that balance, especially now.

The comparisons to Germany and Taiwan made by the New Mexico Business Coalition are wrong.

The NMBC “Get Back to Business Plan” claims that both Germany and Taiwan are comparable to New Mexico are simply wrong.  Both of those countries started widespread action early and aggressively. 

Germany:

“The reason why we in Germany have so few deaths at the moment compared to the number of infected can be largely explained by the fact that we are doing an extremely large number of lab diagnoses,” said Dr. Christian Drosten, chief virologist at Charité, whose team developed the first test.” 

Perrigo, Billy. “Why Is Germany’s Coronavirus Death Rate So Low?” Time, 30 Mar. 2020, time.com/5812555/germany-coronavirus-deaths/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2020.

Germany actually has , more cases per capita than most of the world, they just have a really low death rate. In addition to early and widespread testing, they are also treating infections very early and aggressively while having a  lower age and better overall health of those infected. Unfortunately all of these factors are the exact opposite across Sierra County, so for us the comparison is even less accurate. 

Taiwan:

“Upon the discovery of the first infected person in Taiwan on Jan. 21, we undertook rigorous investigative efforts to track travel and contact history for every patient, helping to isolate and contain the contagion before a mass community outbreak was possible.”while we still require a fever and ability to identify contact with a confirmed positive person (I confirmed this a few minutes ago) Both of these requirements are ludicrous considering Infected and And contagious people can also be asymptomatic (not have any symptoms) And a fever is not always part of an active infection that has symptoms.

ING-WEN, TSAI. “President of Taiwan: How My Country Prevented a Major Outbreak of COVID-19.” Time, 16 Apr. 2020, time.com/collection/finding-hope-coronavirus-pandemic/5820596/taiwan-coronavirus-lessons/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2020.

Taiwan is an island with a population that is not only
prepared but also traumatized from other outbreaks of deadly viruses,  being in such close proximity to China. When they became aware of the Coronavirus they immediately sprung into action with tested resources, established infrastructure and a very cooperative and willing population. Again, extremely far from the reality of our situation in New Mexico and especially Sierra County.

The unintentional benefits for department type stores is not preferential treatment of them.

The fact that “Big Box Stores” offer a combination of essential items with non-essential items (as they always have) does not mean that the restrictions are designed to hurt or eliminate smaller, specialty item businesses. The very tragic, unintentional consequence is the benefit to retail giants. The “Mom & Pop” essential businesses are allowed to operate with the same guidelines as the “Box Stores”, they are just less likely to offer al of the non-essential goods as well.

It is possible to find solutions working with the recommendations that are designed to protect us.

Instead of asking small business owners to open and endanger themselves and their customers, what if the retail locations deemed essential were required to obtain non-essential items, from local sources, whenever possible. Local items could be sold alongside the essential items, for a minimal “processing” fee or with a alternating designated local business representative/attendant.

Small Businesses could create virtual storefronts and arrange zero contact transactions. Employees that are unable to work and desperately needing income could “plug into” platforms that addresses the needs that have arisen in this new reality. Of course,Those that are able could “sponsor” or contribute financially to help with services that the recipients need but can’t afford.

There could be opportunities for someone sign up to do tasks like shopping, food preparation, mail fetching, virtual wellness checks and of course deliveries to those that are desperately needing help. It is possible to find solutions that work within the parameters established for the public’s protection to ensure we are not harming those that we hope to serve.

The exceptions and guidelines for contact are only for essential, unavoidable, necessary contact and are acceptable which is not the same as safe.

As a Licensed Massage Therapist, that owns a Wellness Center, I have had to come to terms with the fact that the more contact we have with one another, the more opportunities this virus has to infect and overwhelm our resources. Before there were State and local restrictions, there was an industry wide call to shut down ALL Massage practices for the health of the public.

The industry expert on pathology and massage safety, Ruth Werner, made it very clear… this was NOT about Massage being dangerous but about ALL person to person contact being dangerous. If there was ever an industry that could make a case for being essential in these extremely stressful times, it would be massage therapy. Clearly and without any doubt the appropriate thing to do, even for something so seemingly beneficial and without the possibility of group exposure was to shut it all down, for everyone’s safety.

We have to come together and take care of each other more than ever now, which we are really good at.

The hard truths and bottom line is that there is still so much about this virus and situation we just don’t know and what we do know indicates that these extremely hard and painful measures are necessary, especially for Sierra County. We have a higher than average median age, a population riddled with pre-existing conditions and two nursing homes in a tourist and vacation home destination with a less than robust healthcare system. If this plan is designed to work somewhere, Sierra County is certainly not the place. 

It seems that there’s a terrible misunderstanding about the essential business exceptions with the gathering, occupancy and distance requirements. These conditions are only acceptable they are certainly not ideal or truly safe. The exceptions only exist because they have to be there in order for us to have access to what is essential to live. ANY contact beyond only what is absolutely necessary is dangerous. Period. 

We have to keep genuinely helping each other get through the toughest times.

I absolutely agree that we need to support small businesses and individuals as much as we possibly can right now. As a Business Woman, I experienced the incredible support that Sierra County is capable of. When I got sick, the level of genuine collective care and community is something I can’t even describe, it was so powerful.

I am convinced a big part of my being able to beat the odds for all this time, is largely due to all of the silent prayers, hearts full of love and pure light I received when I was hanging on by a literal thread. We have to keep finding ways to support each other, while working within the parameters established by the experts that are trying to protect us. Parameters that New Mexico is still on the lower end of enacting. 

While it is absolutely appropriate and necessary to create a plan to re-open, I am asking that you please leave the timeline to re-open to the experts that have dedicated their lives to determining this very thing.

A safe timeframe for re-opening simply can’t be established without widespread testing and contact tracing. Quite frankly, it is unknown when either will be available. With an increased number of new infections and deaths daily, New Mexico’s “curve” has yet to peak, let alone to plateau.

To re-open prematurely would defeat the purpose of the precautionary measures that have been taken and more importantly, endanger the most vulnerable among us. The protection of the residents at the New Mexico State Veteran’s Home, which is the state’s only nursing home for the country’s vets should be a top priority.

The danger to Nursing Homes in the face of Covid-19 is well documented. Voting to re-open non-essential businesses that surround the NM State Veteran’s Home, against expert advice, would not only be dangerous but also cruel. The residents that gave so much to America, deserve all of the protection we can possibly give them.

There is still so much about this virus that is unknown, including whether or not we are immune after recovery, how many variants there are and if cross contamination is possible. All of these variables and many more will determine safe and appropriate protocols and timelines for reopening.

I am very grateful for all of our Representatives, it is not an easy job, especially now!

This is far from a political issue and situation, I pray it won’t be made into one. If you vote to follow a timeline established by business people and politicians, you are not acting in your constituents best interest, you are endangering them, this is a fact.

It would be tragic to allow scientists, virologists, epidemiologists, doctors and (most) politicians to call the shots when it comes to the business side of this very complex situation. I hope you can see the tragedy of business people calling the shots of the other side as well. 

I genuinely appreciate our Representatives, especially in these unprecedentedly difficult times. I am so extremely grateful for all of the Essential Workers, and of course the Health Care Workers that are putting their lives on the line to save ours. I sincerely hope we can come together to find solutions that support and protect this incredibly fragile community. I know we are so capable of doing it.

If you are having a hard time with all of this, you are not alone! Check out how to Transform Your Emotions in 5 Steps, for some helpful tools and please reach out, there are people who are wanting to help you. We can get through this together.

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