COVID-19 in San Diego

Michael E. Kirkpatrick ·

The world around us doesn’t always make sense. The world around me today doesn’t make sense.

It doesn’t make sense to me that our leaders in San Diego are lifting restrictions and allowing people to gather in restaurants and on the beach. Soon, San Diegan’s will be able to gather in gyms, hotels, bars, wineries, day camps, bowling alleys, and more.

Why?

I understand economic pressure and business pressure. I understand political pressure. I understand the desire to see other people.

In San Diego county, 8,345 people have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Of those, 296 people have died.

3.5% of people who have contracted this disease have died.

Do we, as a community, believe this is acceptable?

Most of those who have died, 140, are over the age of 80. Those are parents, grandparents, and loved ones.

I want to see my parents. I want to see my family. I want to see my grandmother.

Today, seeing my family potentially puts them at risk because I could potentially transmit the virus to them. Yes, I can, and plan to, get tested. We all should commit to getting tested regularly to better understand how this virus is propagating through our community and stop its spread when and where it’s found.

For the past 47 days — since April 20th — San Diego county has averaged 128 new COVID-19 cases per day.

Every day.

And the rate of new cases has been remarkably steady.

As of today, 1 in every 400 San Diegan’s has contracted COVID-19.1

This is a disease that doesn’t discriminate. Of the 296 deaths, 124 of them are from Hispanic or Latino communities, 123 deaths are from White communities, 29 are from Asian communities, and 8 are from Black communities.2

We aren’t alone. While San Diego has seen a 25% increase in cases over the past two weeks, the State of California has seen a 36% increase in cases over the same period.3

Of the 50 states in our union, 23 states are seeing a decrease in the number of cases in their state over the past two weeks. Why isn’t California leading the way?4

Please

  • Wear a mask anytime you are out of your house — walking, shopping, and when you’re out of your house.
  • Get tested. Call 2-1-1 and get tested for free at a County testing center.

County Leaders

Please advertise on billboards, online, on the radio, on television, on your Twitter accounts, and anywhere you can that San Diegan’s should wear masks anytime they’re not at home and that they should get tested.

Please lead by example. Wear a mask at your press conferences, in your videos, photos, and in public.

Please consider reimposing restrictions on activity in the County.

We know what it takes to reduce the spread of this virus. Let’s reduce the spread of COVID-19. A steady rate of new cases for the past 47 days should be a striking indicator that the County is not ready to “reopen”.

References

  1. The US Census Bureau estimates the population of San Diego county as 3,338,330. With 8,345 cases in San Diego, that’s 0.25% of the population, or 1/400.
  2. See the San Diego County COVID-19 Deaths by Demographics
  3. In San Diego county, there were 8,345 cases reported as of June 5th. 14 days prior, on May 23rd, 6,701 cases were reported. In the State of California, 128,137 cases were reported as of June 6th, with 93,883 cases reported as of May 24th.
  4. See the table titled “How is My State Doing on Key Measures?” from CovidExitStrategy.org.