Many of us recognize the acute danger that COVID-19 poses for each of us and our communities, and therefore the need for masking, sheltering and distancing. At the same time, we’re all ready to get back to work, to school, to the many activities that we considered normal before this pandemic struck.
In Contra Costa County, and indeed throughout the Bay Area, we have seen the benefit of quick, definitive, science-based action. Because of the shelter in place orders and your observance of these health orders, we have largely avoided the devastation that has played itself out in other parts of the nation and world. Your collective sacrifices have saved the one thing that can’t be replaced: lives. But what’s next? When do we put this horrible pandemic behind us and resume life as we once knew it? What is the path forward?
For everyone looking for a date to put on the calendar, I’m afraid I have to disappoint. We are dealing with a virus that won’t be contained by a clock. COVID-19 is capricious by its nature. That isn’t to say we haven’t made concrete progress. We learned a great deal, built powerful response systems, developed amazing partnerships and instituted testing policies that allow us to track and control the spread. In short, during the two months since the initial shelter in place order was implemented, Contra Costa County is in a far better place to address this pandemic.
This week’s health order is a testament to that success. While it rightly maintains a high level of caution and vigilance, it also begins to lighten some key restrictions. It opens the door toward increased opportunities for business and commerce.
The data we collect on a daily basis will continue to serve as our gauge as we seek additional safe ways to modify our orders and open up our communities. Nothing about this is arbitrary. Our five indicators are the best tools to let us know how we are progressing, what steps need to be taken to protect your health, and when and how we can continue to open up the county.
Contra Costa during and in the Post-COVID-19 Era:
Rather than solely focusing on reopening, however, I think it’s important to also focus on re-imagining what Contra Costa County can be during and in the post-COVID-19 era. Are there paths that can take us to new or never imagined opportunities? How can we work together not simply to get back to normal but to move forward to an even better place?
Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the Bay Area didn’t just rebuild, it re-imagined. Long-standing structures like the sparse, utilitarian Embarcadero Freeway were torn down to give way to one of the world’s most striking waterfront developments. Why shouldn’t we do the same when we re-imagine what we want for our communities during and beyond the COVID-19 era.
I suggest this while fully appreciating the struggles and despair all around us. I am deeply troubled by the health and economic peril so many are experiencing. It’s truly heart-wrenching and should push us to think smarter and re-imagine what is possible.
As horrible as this pandemic has been, it’s revealed some of our finest attributes. As a community, we’ve shown an ability to work together. We’ve demonstrated the power of aligning for the common good. I have witnessed an unparalleled spirit of charity, compassion and camaraderie that is awe-inspiring. Imagine harnessing that power to support everyone in our county to live safely, healthy and well, regardless of location, income, ethnicity, gender or ability.
This isn’t a pipe dream. In the last two months the people of Contra Costa County have proven that we have what it takes to take on any challenge presented to us. We don’t have to simply aim for a return to the pre-COVID baseline. We can go further!
Wishing you all safety, health and wellness,
Anna M. Roth
Director, Contra Costa Health Services
NO!
No more political baloney.
Reopen everything now!
Agree
Anna needs to redraft this but leave out the section how the community has come together to help one another and the part about witnessing spirit of charity, compassion and camaraderie. It’s very clear by all the comments that this county is full of a bunch of selfish cynical people who find joy in tearing down others and live on cruel hatred. Everyone is so eager to sacrifice living beings for their materialistic addictions. What a sad time we live in.
@Joanna
Yeah, you’re so right…..how can some people be so selfish for wanting their materialistic addiction, also known as food.
I’m not sure why Joanna and Cyn posted replies to my post.
I have been clear from the beginning that the virus is more about political control than the sickness it brings, at least to the politicians.
I am about freedom without government control.
I am not against those who need assistance.
They have no plan on opening up. They need more suicides and more family decimation. While they think they are doing the right thing more people will kill them selves which will out weigh the amount of people dying from the disease. Blood guilty but you have to have a conscience for that. They are the reason I don’t trust politicians and western medicine, it’s all about scare tactics and putting people into submission.
@Cellophane, I wasn’t replying to your post; I was speaking directly to Joanna.
What a bunch of jibberish. Anna and her buddy Dr. Chris are going to keep us shut down until enough pressure is put on the Board of Supervisors to force them to tell the Health dept to loosen up the lockdown. Solano County is very close to opening restaurants and retail. Does Anna realize that most of us have cars and can make the short journey to Benicia, Fairfield or Vacaville to shop or eat out? Anna refers to the five indicators…..but never tells us the specific numbers on the indicators that she demands be met before opening up.
Travelling out-of-county for non-essential purposed would be illegal. So no, you can’t go to Solano County.
Nothing is worse than a patronizing Karen. She thinks she’s so smart and can pull the wool over our eyes. But she’s transparent as clear water, What an idiot.
@ concord ygnacio – so who is going to stop people from traveling? How are people going to be sited? I have been to several other counties with absolutely no issues or hassle. This is a mandate not a law and there is a difference. Are you going to start turning people in? just curious since you make the statement.
Like Hell I can’t leave the county…Im doing it, this weekend, non-essentially. CY you can stay home and hold Anna’s hand.
@ concord ygnacio
LOL you’re funny.
Just emailed the county supervisors.
Here are their emails:
SUPERVISORMITCHOFF@BOS.CCCOUNTY.US
john_gioia@bos.cccounty.us
SupervisorAndersen@bos.cccounty.us
Supervisor_burgis@bos.cccounty.us
District5@bos.cccounty.us
Concord Ygnacio – Oh noes! Non-essential travel out of county! Oh, the horror!
I’m pretty sure there has already been plenty of non-essential out of county travel. We’ve already travelled to Solano county for the non-essential purpose of visiting family. It was so great so them, and so refreshing. Nobody got sick from the visit, nobody got arrested or cited, and nobody cares that it’s illegal. I consider civil disobedience to a duty when there are laws or orders that are over-reaching.
I read the SIP order and didn’t find anything about not crossing county lines. It’s just that all travel is supposed to be for “essential” activities. Itentions that people entering CCC from outside have to abide by the order. Some other countries have limits on who can use outdoor spaces – you have to be within ten miles of your residence, in The People’s Republic Of San Mateo County, for example. But I don’t see anything in the order that restricts going to Solano County.
The saddest part is to share a country, much less a county, with people like concord ygnacio who are more than willing to allow politicians and unelected bureaucrats to determine what is essential.
I hate this. We will focus on re opening because there are people who’s businesses and livelihoods are at stake. Stop telling us there’s no date and great job saving lives! Move on. 33 deaths is .00003 of the entire population of CCC. Enough with the politics and the positive spins. It’s time to open UP.
Sounds like Social Reengineering, I’m not with this approach at all, we are a free people, not at the direction of Bureaucracy to be molded into their vision of Utopia, in stead of Reengineering for the higher good (what ever that is), let’s get the populus out of pending Poverty, not consider this as an opportunity for equalling of social order. And no, before I hear, you can’t handle change, I can, but not at the decree of Socialists
Yes, just “re-imagine” our country as a safe (socialist) country. It’s for your own good, I mean safety, I mean you will comply.
The new talking points of the liberals using their new word “ re-imagine”
In the meantime,
There will be millions of casualties of a continued shutdown that will be hiding in plain sight, but they will be called alcoholism, homelessness, suicide, heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. In youths it will be called financial instability, unemployment, despair, drug addiction, unplanned pregnancies, poverty, and abuse.
This needs to stop now!
So, where’s that path announced in the title of the article? Nowhere – because they don’t have one. You can throw that on the same trash heap as the bullet train to nowhere.
Also, we have not saved lives. We’ve simply shifted death to a different demographic: those that were already ill and didn’t get treatment; those that were not diagnosed in time; those that had strokes or heart attacks; those that were murdered or committed suicide; those that will die from starvation (per the UN, that’s 265,000,000). We will be killing far more lives than we have saved.
CoCo Health Services Director Anna Roth, how come jury duty has resumed but businesses still need to run curb side service?
” I am deeply troubled by the health and economic peril so many are experiencing.” says Anna Roth who continues to receive almost $300,000 annually for her creative writing.
(An aside: is death by depression/despair/suicide somehow less significant than one from the Wuhan flu?)
Anonymom nailed it. Use appropriate risk mitigation and reopen all businesses so Anna can keep getting her taxpayer funded salary.
STOP the BS!!! Show us the data you lying overpaid bureaucrat! I resent being lectured by someone who continues to receive close to a half $milllion each year while tens of thousands of Contra Costans have lost over 50% of their income. This has been nothing more than a typical flu season. You stupid Claycordians haven’t begun to see the economic devastation that is about to strike our County. Where was all this BS social distancing and SIP during past flu seasons in CoCo County…you do know that 250 Contra Costans die of the flu every F’ing year vs 33 dead from Covid. Claycordians are absolute idiots for blindly following the advise of a no-nothing unelected bureaucrat like Ana Roth.
I agree 1000% 33 people dead!!! Are you kidding me the fact at Home Depot Costco can stay open with social distancing BS and the fact small mom and pop stores are not allowed to even open the doors even with full body PPE!!!! People need to wake up and see what’s going on… stop watching main stream news do your own digging. #FreeThinkers
Anna you are full of B.S.
Eh?
It is up to the County Board of Supervisors to put a stop to this. No one elected Roth or Farnitano. Arrogant idiots tell us that our reopening approach will be based on “data and science”. But what data and science? The “science” study that initially predicted over 2 Million deaths in the US? The “data” Newsom used to predict over 25 million infections in CA within weeks when requesting a US Navy hospital ship? The CDC, who said you didn’t need a mask, then said you did, and now says the virus doesn’t survive long on surfaces? The real data is we have less than 2 dozen people in the hospital in our county right now due to the virus. We can protect the vulnerable and reopen for everyone else. Time to put pressure on the Board of Supervisors and recall them if they won’t do anything.
Where are all the mayors, council members, Supervisors and Police Chiefs? Who the hell put the Health Department in charge?
Politicians and law enforcement- STAND UP AND DO YOUR JOB!
Stop this insanity!
It up to the people to contact the board members and let them know how they feel about it.
She asked- “what is the path forward?” The path forward is “get out of California and get out before it’s too late” Wisdom by MoJo for free.
Sorry Anna – most of us need to live in reality — not in your imagination.
That is some of the most useless BS I have ever read. Why we aren’t rioting outside the CC health offices is beyond me. Insulting to the populace at the very least. WAKE UP WOMAN!! WE ARE STRUGGLING, OPEN US NOW!
Sorry but many have been traveling out of the county to live again and will continue to do so even with her little spiel…
Anna,
As we say in the South, “Bless your heart”.
Open the damn county now!
Shut up Anna.
Stop being letting your taste of power go to your head, and get out of everyone’s way
I read all 10 paragraphs of this statement, and found nothing of any value,period. This director is nothing but another talking head for the liberals. She has no clue how to think on her own. Someone needs to inform this amateur wanna be, the way to start the repair is to OPEN the county up!!!
You’re right, Mike! We took a bite of a big ‘nothing burger.’ You betcha we’re disappointed, Anna, there’s no definitive release date from our house arrest–that date will come when the petrified masses wake, with civil disobedience as the last straw…
Open up our county now!
protest, rally, make noise, be heard.
@Kate,
yep! i got pens and poster paper….who is ready and when do we go?
Comparing an earthquake and a dropped freeway to justify continued lockdowns tells me that this idiot is just playing the political game…..to say nothing of the feel-good platitudes being spewed.
Know what they call a doctor who got D’s in meds school?
Doctor.
Anna M Roth Salary Overview
As Director Of Health Services at Contra Costa County, Anna M Roth made $471,438 in total compensation. Of this total $337,838 was received as a salary, $116,708 was received as benefits and $16,892 came from other types of compensation . This information is according to Contra Costa County payrolls for the 2018 fiscal year.
Anna M Roth total compensation is 56 % higher than average director of health services salary, and 343 % higher than average Contra Costa County salary.
Anna M Roth can kiss it…nobody cares what she says.
In other words, nothing is going to change. Stay home, stay unemployed, social distance, and wear a mask. We, the self appointed experts know what’s best for you. We fully appreciate the struggles and despair all around us, although we have six figure incomes and don’t have to worry about paying the rent or mortgage, or putting food on the table.
Yes feel good about it, and feel a sense of pride, because they tore down the Embarcadero Freeway and built a striking waterfront.
“Why shouldn’t we do the same when we re-imagine what we want for our communities during and beyond the COVID-19 era.”
Because nobody elected you Ann.
Democrats never let reality get in the way of their Utopian vision.
Most of us are perfectly fine going back to something resembling our old life, stop using this to push broad structural change.
That whole passage had my blood boiling. Are you kidding me?! You were APPOINTED, not elected, for one specific function, county health officer. Not county “reimaginer,” not head visionary. Know your damn place, lady. You are there to serve the people of this county, not show them the way to the glorious future.
Things need to change going forward. The lawsuits are already flying. Laws need to be passed stripping any of this power from these types of appointees. Any elected official that tries to do something like this in the future needs to forfeit all pay and benefits for the duration. They cannot be allowed to make others suffer while they bear none of the pain.
I am blow away but how tone deaf and out of line this letter is. Close to $500 grand in our tax dollars for this.
GARBAGE!!!
We’be heard these LIES before with the “war on terror” = no end in sight!
People have to contact their elected officials if they want them to act. If they don’t have people telling them they don’t approve, then they don’t know. They work for you. Contact the board of Supervisors and tell them you want action.
Reimagine THIS, Anna:
Imagine your budget cut by 25-50% because you have helped tank our economy.
Imagine an increase in advanced cases of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc…because people haven’t received routine healthcare in +2 months.
Imagine the increase in emotional/mental illness brought on by the strain of “Cower-in-Place”.
Imagine the number of low-income students who will fall even further behind in their studies because ‘distance learning’ is failing them.
Imagine having to answer to God for your support of these extreme measures while failing to consider or care about the people you have harmed.
Your “Never let a crisis go to waste” behavior is appalling!
So please, who amongst us after reading this AGENDA21/AGENDA30 Orwellian double-speak jargon from the CCC’s top health tribal member, Ann Roth, doesn’t now realize we live as prisoners within in A POLICE STATE? Sadly, those who don’t realize this fact will soon line up for poisonous, compulsory vaccinations at the expense of your lives. Unbelievable!
She is our CoCo Health Services Director??? What a joke! She ought to have that title stripped from her because apparently she is full of crap.
She’s an RN, MS, MPH. You can find her on LinkedIn and many other places, just google her. Here’s one link:
http://essentialhospitals.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Roth-Anna_-Speaker-Bio.pdf
Hey, Anna..Did you read even ONE comment here supporting your sugar coated, rainbows and puppies filled drivel? Shame on you! Enjoy your bloated paycheck while the rest of the unemployed people suffer.
A piece of feel good fluff written by a liberal airhead. Says nothing, but makes a case that she should feel good about all she has done to keep us safe. Wow, thanks for sharing Anna Roth. Lets start by telling us deplorables what “the path forward” is. Most importantly, what are the five indicators that would allow Contra Costa to reopen business as usual. Please be specific and include all metrics so the goal posts don’t continue to be moved at will.
Open the county Anna, we the people who pay your salary have had enough.
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. — Shakespeare
Guessing this long, vapid screed is foreshadowing an extension of the lockdown. Argh.
Anna taking a beating for this announcement, and rightly so. We’ll see how serious y’all are about all this when the opportunity to vote rolls around again.
Who is this lady?
She has no authority to create law from health orders, nor does she have anyone’s best interest in mind except for her own. She is clearly being told what to do, the question is by who and why?
Also, I expect and hope people file lawsuits against her personally and the county to hold them liable for this illegal lockdown.
If she and others ordering this aren’t held personally liable for the devastation they are causing they will continue to make these ridiculous decisions.
This Anna would be the first person to use a safe zone at college! She is out of her mind! How are we being dictated to by the Heath Dept? Why do we not have anyone standing up for our rights? This lady is scared of her own shadow, she needs to stay home and wear a mask and let us healthy Americans live our lives!!
Wow they are still trying to distance themselves from their political and idiotic reputation destroying Statement of a leftist authoritarian liberal pandering media source that actually put out a statement to detail how people should commence with coitus.
I am sorry but when you do that and show your a puppet to the liberal regime
You can not come back from that …. it that I had any respect for a political agency milking tax money and trying to dictate moral standards across the board
This Statement
Imagine harnessing that power to support everyone in our county to live safely, healthy and well, regardless of location, income, ethnicity, gender or ability.
Wow Isn’t that what is supposed to be happening under the current 40 year regime of demorat rule
I mean repeating aNd repeating the narrative
Isn’t the definition of insanity
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results
Preaching only effects the ears and brain
Does not mean that things just happen because someone preached it at you
How has your life improved since the 40 year liberal occupation
Are you making more money and improving your living situation and your savings and stability
Or are you inundated with rhetoric over and over of how dem politicians are benefiting you and being taxed for everything and everyOne else’s happiness while you toil in debt and have even more taxes shoved down your throat
While a Bart board memeber complains about getting trump money but says trump should sign over more demorat bail out Money
This statement by the health dept a direct benefiter of dem money is not only pandering and pushing you to do as they say but also pushing the same word and rhetoric of liberal bliss in a liberal democrat regime full of corruption and waste that is not helping anyone but themselves
Push for a change yes and or re imagine YOU actually thriving and succeeding for your family with savings and a income above the cost of living
And the state and counties actually providing fixed roads and infrastructure as well as improved attitudes towards lowering taxes and have people work and live their lives
Instead of being forced to live off the demorat teat and forced to vote for them or risk losing the free ride
Be productive
not obedient and lifeless
Like the ccchealth self absorbed liberal spewing now defunked and untrustworthy county employees who want all the money and don’t care about what you want or need ….they just want you to adhere to their posted recommendations as they are to be abided by or sink into their un imagined outlook and compliance
This should be based by City not County.
I believe that we should reach out to miss Roth.
Twitter account = @AnnaMRoth
email address = aroth@hsd.cccounty.us
much easier to just email or hit up her twitter to let her know how you feel…
and be respectful!
You catch more bees with honey.
Urge her to move with San Mateo, Solano, and Napa.
Sounds good to me. Thanks.
here are more email addresses for miss Roth
aroth@hsd.cccounty.us
anna.roth@hsd.cccounty.us
This is many paragraphs of content free blathering. It’s trying to be a pep talk, and using the word “re-imagine” quite frequently. It’s like trying to bite into a cloud – there is absolutely no substance there. It horrifying to me that Anna is director of the health department and can order people to close their businesses and keep them closed, and she can decide what businesses can maybe reopen a little bit, and which ones must stay closed. Her decisions affect who can make a living and who can’t.
If it please the crown, may we begin making a living soon?
Voting is going to be cake this year
[ ] incumbent
[x] challenger
@ somebody….You just nailed it! Every GD California 2+ term politician needs to be UNelected….and, just say “NO” to EVERY bond and tax measure on the ballot.
Why does this fill me with rage instead of hope? All we want is a timeline and guidance. They have many more plans than they tell us! They knew well before Monday they would allow retail to open for pickup this week! Why not let the stores prepare!
Anna Roth certainly must not have ANY kids at home that have had their lives ripped apart! We cannot accept this as a “new normal.” I demand a childhood
full of learning, social interaction, and FUN for my kids! This is not ok!
All of the anger at a clueless unelected bureaucrat like Anna is justified. Including the 2.4 million more Americans who filed for unemployment last week, there are now 38.5 million Americans unemployed right now. A large number of those are in CA and in the SF Bay Area. But clueless unelected bureaucrats like Anna makine $400,000 a year are unaffected, and either don’t care about unemployed Americans or are so completely tone deaf that they don’t recognize how many there are – all due to their UNCONSTITUTIONAL shut down policies.
It’s not the county supervisors who will open businesses, schools, sports, and activities back up – it is US. Look in the mirror, that’s who will end the idiotic shutdowns. If you own a business, open it back up tomorrow. If you own a restaurant or a bar, open it back up to all comers including sit down dining. If you are a teacher demand for the schools to be opened back up and the kids to come back to class asap. If you run one of the city’s swimming pools or an HOA run swimming pool, open it back up so the kids can have summer recreation. In short, no one is going to open the economy back up but US – not unelected bureaucrats, not county supervisors, not even Gavin the Idiot governor.
I repeat, ALL of these shutdown orders are unconstitutional. Judges in several states have already ruled this is the case so there is plenty of legal precedent to go on. Other states have opened back up, it’s CA’s time to do so now. But it won’t come from the government or some county health official – it is up to US to do it.
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Imagine this, Ms. Roth, the third highest paid person in the County, at $506,687.10:
Imagine there’s no shutdown
It’s easy if you try
No hell swirling around us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Working for a living today… Aha-ah…
Imagine there’s no shutdown
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living their life in peace… You…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
As Ms. Roth can read above
I hope someday you’ll join us Ms. Roth
And the world will be returned as one
Imagine no closed businesses
I wonder if you can
No need for theft or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Around your office protesting…You..
Some may say you’re a reamer
And I’m not the only one
I hope today you retire
And the world will live as one
A different version of John Lennon’s Imagine. Did you agree with the original Imagine?
Since the original was essentially a communist manifesto sung with a pleasant melody, no.
Ha, the original “Imagine” is such idiotic, leftist claptrap…whenever someone fawns over the lyrics then you have positively identified an abject moron.
Are you a doctor?
Less 1% affected
So why are we locked ?
Sounds like more government lies
America is not free anymore
this should show you that we are under gov control and will continue to be
this supposed random virus with impeccable timing has enabled the liberal agenda to be pushed way forward ….anti American democrats have unleashed their plan to stifle citizens and push towards a socialist communist gov so we the people will work for them to be prosperous and achieve as we hard working americans toil in taxes and paying for others as well as enriching the politicians
this state has enamored simple voters to allow this to happen …entrapping them in welfare and edd unemployment to secure their votes for dem candidates or lose the free ride
…..it only took them 40 years to bring down freedom in favor of crime and bums and forcing people to the system tree
…while the americans trying to fight and beat the regime are slammed with tax after tax and property taxes through the proverbial roof
now with this timing of a not so innocent china ( who is communist socialist )the liberal socialist communist politician cabal has its opportunity to throw over freedom and America itself …..
we are living socialist communism right now with these political lashings and lockdowns to force compliance …..
re imagen = anti freedom and servitude …..to china
this post will be removed as anti china more than likely
even though it is about Americans losing their freedom to political agendas through agencies we did not vote for lol ….
we don’t vote for much any more …..its all done for us
the gov the reps the city councils all with power over our money and our lives …issuing demands and control through fear tactics and propaganda
just like 1930 germany …..always wondered how the people felt as the political power took over their lives through fear and chaos …
just sad history repeats itself like a broken record …..even if we have heard it before
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I mean the title should say it all
just a quick look on the internet came up with this
The Path Forward –
Surviving the Narcissist
Have you suddenly found yourself in a relationship with someone who believes it’s all about him? Are you in love with someone who is overly critical, demeaning and even cruel? Do you feel as though you can do nothing right in his eyes?
seems all to similar to liberalism of America
Ah yes, President Obama, the ultimate bogeyman.
I JUST WANT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL AGAIN WITH MY FRIENDS & TEACHERS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
@Kate,
yep! i got pens and poster paper….who is ready and when do we go?
Rainbows and puppies don’t override the constitution
Soon to be ghost from the history books. Biggest mistake this country made
Damn Anna. Gaslight much?
This was just a test. Imagine what Democrats will do when they control Congress and have their guy/gal in office! What frightens me is the fact that the Supreme Court hasn’t stepped in yet to defend our Constitutional Rights. That makes them much more fragile and much less God-given than I had imagined.
For everyone that wants to open up here is Anna’s phone number.
Anna Roth, RN, MS, MPH
Director
925-957-5403
925-957-5409 fax
I called and asked CoCo Health Services Director Anna Roth, how come jury duty has resumed but businesses still need to run curb side service? I am sure it will fall on deaf ears. But I am hoping they get flooded with calls. I don’t mind wearing a mask and keeping a distance. Though I do not own a business I do mind when there is no justification in keeping businesses closed. Just looking out for those who I do not know yet care about.
“Rather than solely focusing on reopening, however, I think it’s important to also focus on re-imagining what Contra Costa County can be during and in the post-COVID-19 era. Are there paths that can take us to new or never imagined opportunities? How can we work together not simply to get back to normal but to move forward to an even better place?”
Hey Anna – This isn’t your JOB! DO YOUR JOB! Stay in your lane. We don’t need some low-level bureaucrat tells us to re-imagine what our county can look like! I for one like the county and this Country just the way it is thank you. And, if you don’t, then I suggest you leave.
As for you, “fully appreciating the struggles and despair all around us. I am deeply troubled by the health and economic peril so many are experiencing”, I highly doubt you understand to economic and health issue the small business owner, a hair salon, or nail salon, that you and your actions have directly impacted. Maybe you should donate your entire salary to one of those owners who can’t afford to pay the rent or pay their employees and are having their American Dream crushed by your overly fascists policies.
Open the county and let us adults figure out how to be safe.
I am a liberal but this message is beyond annoying and so disconnected from us the people…reimagine what? A world without stores, gyms, theatre, activities, travel, schools, education or even an economy..a world where people don t need to work, pay their mortgage and feed their kids? She is ridiculous. Reading this makes my blood boils…we cannot destroy the economy to a point of no return either makes no sense ..this is creating a bigger humanitarian crisis in case she does not understand….lets all wash our hands, keep our distance and reopen. Give us hope not more disappointment.
I was okay with a temporary SIP that we would then work very fast to get out of. And I’m happy to be in a place where this plague hasn’t hit us hard. But I’m not okay with an indefinite waiting game while people’s lives, livelihoods, relationships and mental health fall apart – not to mention their physical health when their care is delayed.
It’s sophistry to say “the virus has no schedule.” Duh. What *should* have a schedule is the easy stuff – like, hiring a bunch of contact tracers. We’ve known we would need that for two months at least. And we’ve had it as a benchmark and target for at least several weeks. And there are millions of idled and unemployed people ready to do the work. So why are we still waiting for that, now that case numbers and hospitalizations are way way down? Why is it the easy stuff, that our county has full control over, that is holding up everybody’s lives and perpetuating an unhealthy isolation for everybody? Any answers!? Why is there a section on PPE supplies on the dashboard of indicators but there’s no info there? Why can’t the public see what we are waiting for? We are never going to be at zero cases, so we need, at minimum, a clear statement of what we are waiting for. Actually we need more than that, but it would be a start!
Is the story today about suicide levels at John Muir WC going to get these public health officials’ attention? Who are the ones who care about saving lives – remind me?
Non elected people got power and they are abusing it!
Stop this nonsense already
How do we get her dismissed from her position? She is outright scary and I have zero confidence in her abilities. Seriously, how do we get her removed? I am going to write Senator Glazer to ask the question and let him know how I feel. I encourage others to do the same. He’s a man of action and integrity. You can write to him at:
https://sd07.senate.ca.gov/contact/email
Oh goodness, what a load of BS from a bureaucratic Karen. “Re-imagine” = “Let’s spend a s-load of billions for leftist wish list pork” and “we’re REALLY into this Chinese-inspired ‘social credit’ thing”.
How dare this person publish this vapid nonsense while we are in a “shelter-in-place”, and her own website with our benchmarks for re-opening is 2/5 incomplete. Incomplete, as in, there’s no data or information provided at all. Take a look:
https://www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/indicators-dashboard
Cases: flat, even with significant increase in testing.
Hospital capacity: so little is being used on Covid-19 patients it hardly registers: 1-2%, not counting surge capacity.
Testing: we have the capacity to hit the target, but they say they are focusing on tests performed – well, okay, you need to get out there and test asymptomatic people then! We have low numbers – people aren’t getting sick in the numbers that would bring that testing benchmark up. So that’s a bad benchmark, and/or you need to get your act together, stop digging yourself into a rhetorical hole with this nonsense, and test people. If you have more testing capacity it should be purposed for nursing homes and long-term care, for in-home caregivers, grocery store workers, bus drivers, police officers, waiters and servers: and if you can’t get the testing where it needs to be, we the people don’t have to wait for you. You want everyone to shut down and wait – while you do, what exactly? Write disastrously-conceived puff pieces? If we need more tests performed to re-open, then require some businesses to have employees tested! How about you target your intrusive restrictions rather than just blanketing the population with a stay-at-home order?
Contact tracing: “chart coming soon.” Gee, thanks. It’s not like we could have anticipated this need months ago. It’s not like there are millions of unemployed people who would jump at an in-home job that can help society. THIS IS THE EASY PART, WHY ARE WE STILL WAITING? We could easily, easily have hired and trained 1000 contact tracers by now. Heck, we could have 1,000 volunteers trained by now, if the state and county can’t scrape together the pennies to pay some temp workers so that, you know, tax revenue can stop diving further from all the lockdown.
PPE: “chart coming soon”. Heckuva job, Annie.
Honestly, they could have put a message out on Claycord and local Nextdoor pages, etc. a month ago asking for volunteers to be trained for contact tracing – it takes 40 hours of training, online, that’s it. They could have a multilingual team of people who could focus on their own communities, their own neighborhoods – librarians, retired teachers, people out of work, furloughed, etc. They could have announced this and explained how privacy is protected, how the contact people are members of your own neighborhood, real people who are suffering in this lockdown like everyone else. They could have had a dream team by now, so that every case would get great attention and we would be able to stomp out flare-ups as the county re-opens. People successfully did this in the Congo for freakin Ebola, in the middle of a civil war. A civil war. Instead we get “chart coming soon”, nine weeks (?) into a shelter-in-place. “Chart coming soon.”
This worthless lunatic makes $353,118 each year on the taxpayer dime.
Jesus have mercy.
I have to imagine that a re-imagined punch in the nose still feels like a punch in the nose……….Maybe some New Age music in the background will help.
Just more liberal jumbo jumbo. Remake? So nice to hear this paid public employee with cushy state benefits is so comfortable denying people the opportunity to work with dignity, access businesses critical to them, empower the community. No this is all about control. Control. Control. Control. If I can walk into Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Safeway, Target, Sloat and other stores with a mask on, why not ALL stores? Perhaps when the county has run out of money due to declining tax revenues and her job is cut, she’ll reconsider this approach. What a joke! Mask up and open up!
I’ve worked with Anna Roth, Chris Farnitano and the hundreds of health workers and volunteers on the frontlines trying to protect your health. From your sofa, it might seem their efforts are arbitrary, but I can tell you these folks are passionately dedicated and weigh these tough decisions with real thought, sensitivity and concern. I also know that many of them have worked throughout this pandemic without a single break – no weekends, and lots of late nights. Our low death and hospitalization numbers are no accident. They are the direct result of the Health Director and Health Officer making very hard decisions. The Bay Area was one of the nation’s first hotspots. We could have very likely gone the route of New York, Wuhan or Italy, but gutsy, bold moves spared us that tragedy. I know that Anna and her team don’t expect any thanks for their efforts, and they can handle the complaints. But as someone who has watched them work tirelessly on behalf of all of us, I think they deserve more than the malicious attacks dominating this forum. Like all of you, I want this to be over, but I unlike you I’ve had a front row seat to the huge efforts going on to protect the people of Contra Costa, and I feel both proud and privileged to live in a county dedicated to doing the right thing, and a region that is being held up around the world as an example of how to respond to pandemic.
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This is outrageous!
We need to open up fully, yesterday!!!!