PG&E -Threatening our Safety Pt 2

Change. Always inevitable. Never easy. Right now, change is happening constantly and in all areas of our lives. We are dealing with drastic changes to our daily lives, our work lives, family dynamics and more. Along with that comes stress, worry, anxiety, and—believe it or not—grief.

When picking up your prescription medication, before you leave the pharmacy, take a close look at the label on each container. Make sure it has the following:

There’s just no good way to say it.As of Monday, July 27th, almost 17,000,000 people around the world have tested positive for Coronavirus, and over 655,000 have died. In the United States alone, our total cases are rapidly approaching the 4.5 million mark, and we’ve surpassed 150,000 dead Americans from the virus. Those numbers will no doubt be greater by the time you read this story.Here in Santa Cruz County, we were doing a pretty admirable job of keeping our case numbers low, but on July 27th, that good behavior shifted as we were added to the state’s Watch List of highly affected counties. California alone has over 464,000 cases, and we’ve lost nearly 5,000 of our fellow Golden State residents to COVID-19; when you look at our county’s numbers (920 confirmed cases, four deaths and 343 recoveries), we account for only .2% of the total number of infected people in the state. The Watch List assignment comes from the exponential increase in cases (338 in the last two weeks), and hospitalizations (up to 33). By averaging 21 new cases per day, our curve is not being managed well, and that’s putting all of us at risk.Where are those numbers coming from? Watsonville has the highest amount of confirmed cases (460), with unincorporated areas (Aptos, Ben Lomond, Bonny Doon, Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Corralitos, Davenport, Felton, Freedom, La Selva Beach, Rio Del Mar, Soquel and Zayante) accounting for 168 cases. Rounding out the top five are Santa Cruz (157), Capitola (34) and Scotts Valley (21).All that is to say, we’re moving in the wrong direction. How could we be missing the mark on our containment despite implementing good practices? Stores like Trader Joe’s have been explicit in their requirements for masks, sanitization of carts and check-out stations, health checks for employees and social distancing. Restaurants have been reduced to take-out orders or outside dining. Movie theaters remain closed, as do pools. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to operate as a team in this crisis, and yet our rising numbers demonstrate the opposite.Part of that increase can be attributed to farm workers. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), “Farm and food workers are uniquely susceptible to COVID-19, and cases are on the rise in counties with the highest concentration of farm workers. [They] often work, travel and live in close proximity to one another and often lack access to personal protective equipment, paid sick leave or health care.” Indeed, driving by farms and fields in Watsonville, one will see workers bent over, plucking berries or lettuce from the ground, in dense groups. There is no social distancing where these laborers gather, and when they go home, there is no social distancing from their co-workers or families. A virus that spreads so easily from person to person is guaranteed to grip family members sharing limited space in a multigenerational household.Our county’s addition to Governor Newsom’s Watch List can mean a wave of changes in the days to come: dedicated distance learning policies for schools, the closure of businesses that had been allowed to reopen, and additional financial hardship for thousands. To avoid these—and other—sanctions, please help slow the spread by wearing your mask around non-household members, washing your hands, avoiding touching your face, keeping a minimum of six feet between you and others, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and staying home if you feel sick. Beating this has very little to do with luck and everything to do with, you know, science and practicing good behaviors. Each one of us deserves to emerge from this pandemic (relatively) unscathed. Please do your part.

Quercetin one of the most widely distributed flavonoids in plants. Its main natural sources in foods are lettuce, asparagus, onions, broccoli, fruits (apples, berry crops, and grapes), tea and wine. Quercetin is known for its antioxidant activity in radical scavenging and anti-allergic properties characterized by stimulation of immune system, antiviral activity, inhibition of histamine release and decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines. All mentioned mechanisms of action contribute to the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating properties of quercetin that can be effectively utilized in treatment of bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis. Plant extract of quercetin is the main ingredient of many potential anti-allergic drugs and supplements. ("Molecules". 2016 May)

COVID-19 cases are surging both nationally and locally, and young people aged 18-34 are a major reason why. Did you know that between July 12-20th Santa Cruz County had over 200 new cases, the highest yet? Over half of those cases were in 18-34 year olds, so obviously we aren't getting the message. The Santa Cruz County Business Council is partnering with Santa Cruz Works, the Small Business Development Center at Cabrillo College, and the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County to host a special, virtual town hall aimed specifically at 18-34 year olds with our County Health Officer, Dr. Gail Newel, and UCSC Professor Marm Kilpatrick, who is an expert on infectious diseases. The virtual event is taking place Wednesday July 29th from 6-7:30pm, and will feature a current update on COVID in Santa Cruz, an overview of how you can still have fun with your friends SAFELY, and a question and answer session from the front line experts. Those who RSVP via Eventbrite will automatically be entered to WIN a Merge4 Mask after the presentation has concluded. We have 120 to give away! Must be present at the end of the event to be eligible. And, you must be able to get to our location on Pacific Ave to pick up your mask. These stylish cloth masks will keep you both in vogue and safe during this pandemic. As young people we sometimes feel invincible, and it's true that COVID is hitting older people much harder– but even if you don't wind up in the hospital reliant on a ventilator to breath, you can still spread the virus to the most vulnerable in our community. It's time for us to step up and take responsibility for stopping the spread. You can still have fun (!), and you can still see your friends (!!), but just stay outdoors and keep six feet away from each other. If you have to get close or go inside, wear a mask and limit that time as much as possible. DO THE RIGHT THING. #stopthespread #dontkillgrandma