Former Councilmember John Duran has been doing daily COVID updates on his Facebook page since March 2020. Many members of the community have found them helpful. They are republished here with his permission.
LA County Cases 1,246,821 (up from 1,246,619) LA County Deaths 24,421 (up from 24,416) LA Positivity Rate .4% (unchanged at .4%) LA Hospitalizations 216 (up from 218)
255 new COVID Cases announced in LA County yesterday along with 16 additional deaths. Positivity rate unchanged at half of one percent. Hospitalizations up slightly to 352.
BUT WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK TO THE OFFICE…..
From the front page of the LA Times today – vaccines are rising and CA could soon end workplace masking and distancing regulations. We are considering a dramatic easing of COVID restrictions to allow workers to return to work without masks or social distancing – provided everyone is vaccinated.
The dramatic success of our efforts to contain COVID now has public health officials believing that elaborate barriers or spacing out work areas will not be necessary.
Here is a fun fact: 2/3rds of Californians are now partially or fully vaccinated for COVID. 67.3% of us. Some of the smaller states have higher rates like Vermont at 78.6%, Hawaii at 77.1% and Massachusetts at 75.9%. But for the behemoth and most populous State in the Union to be at 2/3rds with 40 million people – is quite remarkable.
BUT LURING PEOPLE BACK INTO THE OFFICE WON’T BE EASY…
Working remotely from home has so many advantages. I have been able to do multiple court appearances for my clients from my couch with coffee in my hand. What used to take 3-4 hours on the freeways, paying for parking, burning up fossil fuels and trying to get to 3 places at once – is gone. Now, I use the LA Superior Court’s version of zoom and appear before multiple judges on multiple cases within 30 minutes or less. Such a relief! It frees me up to be more productive on other cases since I am not driving, saves me gasoline and parking and is better for the LA air quality.
What if I want to keep some of these pandemic adjustments?
12 step meetings have changed drastically also. I have been able to attend them easily and all over the country without leaving my living room. I absolutely miss the in person hugs. And the meals after the meetings. And the assignment of commitments to newcomers to keep them integrated into our meeting system. So, I know I will enjoy going back to in person meetings. But I am also hoping that zoom 12 step meetings will continue.
SO what am I saying. I think it’s HYBRID time!
Hybrid – (noun) – anything derived from heterogenous sources, or composed of elements of different or incongruous kinds.
Just over one third of American workers surveyed recently by staffing firm Robert Half said they would quit if required to return to the office full time. I really get their sentiments. Reality – none of us want to quit if we find the work meaningful and rewarding. But we have learned to question the number of hours we found ourselves commuting long distances. Listening for “sig alerts” on the radio or news radio – just was as important as spending more quality time in meditation, yoga, prayer, reflection or any other type of soul grounding activity.
Who hasn’t wished for Star Trek capability that Scottie could “beam us up” and we could get from point A to point B within a second or two. Time and space were given different meaning during COVID for most of us. And guess what? Some parts of it – WE LIKE. WE REALLY DO LIKE.
Pandemics reshape cultural norms. As we come out of this pandemic, workplace norms around time and space will and must change. We now know better. And we welcome the new day….
73 degrees and sunny in LA. Enjoy the Thursday before the weekend. And it’s Memorial Day weekend next weekend! Hooray! Unmasked BBQ and pool time….. !
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