A Message from Mayor Ford Greene
As San Anselmo’s Mayor, I want to check-in with you about beating back the bug. The threat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) presents is scary. It is invisible, airborne, easily transmitted and often deadly.
The Bay Area leads the nation in taking effective, smart action to slow down the rate of infection. Thus, we are currently subject to a 3-week shelter in place order to prevent too many people getting too sick at once which would overwhelm our medical infrastructure. Infrastructure crash will imperil rendering effective medical treatment resulting in more deaths than would occur if too much were not to happen at the same time. We want to avoid what has happened in Italy.
Thank you for your awareness and recognition of the problem’s seriousness and for your willingness to work together to confront our present challenges. COVID-19’s means of transmission initially is by airborne particles that are suspended until they land on a surface or are inhaled. The bug infects its human hosts through entry of the mouth, nose and eyes from standing less than six feet apart from an infected person or by transfer of the bug onto a surface and then by one’s hand from the surface to a bodily orifice. We must learn and practice new ways to protect ourselves including recognizing how easy it is to touch one’s face without knowing it and how each time we do that we invite infection.
Good enough physical distancing and hand hygiene are critical. When out and about interacting with others remember to practice the six-foot physical distancing rule (most often called “social distancing”), be aware of what you touch and do not inadvertently touch your face. Remember our clean and bug-free homes are sanctuaries which we want to maintain. When anyone enters our home, s/he can carry the bug. To best preserve a bug-free and safe environment, upon entry a person should immediately wash one’s hands with hot water, liquid soap (if you have it) for at least 20 seconds and pay particular attention to the areas under your fingernails where it is easiest for the bug to secure itself and avoid scrubbing. If you don’t have a brush, you can clean all your fingernails by robustly rubbing them with lots of soap across the palm of your hand.
Remember, the sanest thing you can do is to stay home which you have kept safe. Identify protocols to preserve the germ-free safety of your sanctuary.
There is irony and counter-intuitiveness in the fact that the means of working together to effectively fight the bug is by maintaining adequate physical distance from one another. But that is the truth guiding our self-protection now. Our town is working hard to identify good-enough measures necessary so that we can adapt to our present extreme circumstances. Please pay attention to the www.townofsananselmo.org in order to stay informed.
Finally, please pay attention to the infirm and elderly that you know of who need help in daily living, including obtaining groceries and other things. Our collective and individual vulnerability is inextricably intertwined with the weakest and most vulnerable among us. Among other important things, our care for others and care for ourselves is the same. The bug makes no distinctions among class, race, religion, country, politics or economic position.
Thank you, again, for continuing to be such a great community and for continuing to work together to face and prevail in this very challenging time.
Sincerely,
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