COVID-19: Town Hall
Last updated 9/11/2020 at 10:19am
The Town Hall meeting hosted by the Borrego Springs COVID-19 Task Force was held on Aug. 20, after the postponment of the previous fiasco. The meeting was facilitated by Bruce Kelley, Chair of the Borrego Valley Endowment Fund.
Borrego Springs’ Honorary Mayor and owner of Carlee’s Andy Macuga was one of the first to speak, saying, “He loves the sense of community and the way Borrego rallied together during this unprecedented time.”
The panel gave a key message for fall: It’s important for people to get vaccinated for the flu as soon as possible. Folks over 65 should get a pneumonia shot as well. People coming to Borrego, friends, family, guests and renters are encouraged to get vaccinated 14 days prior to arriving. It takes 14 days for flu shot to develop immunity.
A question asked, “Will Borrego Springs Clinic offer vaccinations, and if so, starting when?” Dr. Edgar Bulloch, MD, Regional Medical Director of Borrego Health, did not mention anything or volunteer anything about vaccinations at the time.
There are 17 cases in Borrego, and the panel of doctors congratulated the community for setting such a good example containing virus spread, and creating a culture of health, noting the Task Force and community participation. Borregans should continue to be examples, getting shots, wearing masks, distancing, washing hands and sanitizing.
They discussed the differences between the flu and COVID-19: The coronavirus, like the flu, is transmitted through the air, and is contagious 20 plus hours. It is 10 – 20 times more deadly, unlike the flu germs, which are only able to transmit contagions through the air for minutes.
Borrego Health claims to have tested 20,000 people with 3,000 being positive. Of 650 Borrego Springs residents tested, six people, about one percent were positive with mostly mild symptoms.
We were told the hospitals have learned a lot about treating, consulting regularly and writing peer review studies on better ways of dealing with the virus, as a result of impact, according to Adolphe Edward, MD, CEO of El Centro Regional Medical Center.
The meeting wound up by the panel saying to Borregans, “keep up the good work in fighting the virus.
