We did a great thing

It’s been a whirlwind ride, and though many say it’s not over, in a way it is. There could be new variants and new threats and systems are in place to return to some of the mandates we experienced. But likely nothing like the confusion, disruption and dramatic change we felt in those early days and weeks.

The zeitgeist seems to indicate that we can no longer accomplish great things. In many respects, this is true. We are a messy, dysfunctional and sometimes plain erratic society with any number of differing opinions on what we could be doing differently or better. There are some who believe COVID wasn’t real, a hoax or overblown. There are others who believe it will never be the same, and our world will always be under threat. Somewhere in the middle is where most of us reside and, you know, honestly, we did a great thing. Together, through tremendous sacrifice and strain, we were able to beat back COVID. Nothing was perfect in how we did it, in retrospect there was obviously much that could have been done better. Everyone can name something we did that made absolutely zero sense. But the people of San Mateo County largely took the issue seriously, did what needed to be done to keep as many people in the community safe, and sacrificed for our neighbors.

We stayed at home. We wore masks. We hand sanitized. We distanced. We learned to be at-home teachers. We even adhered to the silly new rules like no playgrounds, beaches or parks more than 5 miles from our house. We got our temperatures checked all the time. We responded to the same questions over and over again. Yet, we helped each other in new ways. We found new ways of doing things. We Zoomed. We got vaccinated in extremely high numbers. We wore masks again. We got tested. We got boosted. We tested some more.

Our County Manager Mike Callagy faced the challenges head-on and led through professionalism, creativity and compassion. His team faced long and difficult hours and persisted in tackling any number of difficult issues on the fly. Our County Health department pivoted with distinction and was as transparent as could be while also managing a unique once-in-lifetime (we hope) public health crisis. Government workers, emergency workers, health care workers, retail workers, pharmacists, drivers, teachers, school administrators, elected officials and countless others all rose to the challenge. The Daily Journal team of reporters took on the challenge of becoming instant experts on a previously unknown topic while balancing new coverage with old and also the safety concerns and impact on themselves and their families. And you, the person reading this, rose to the challenge as well. Every single one of us in our own way modified our behavior in difficult ways to take on this issue. And we beat it back so that we can start returning to normal.

What will that normal look like? That’s evolving. Mandates are dropping fast for most settings. As case counts drop dramatically, we are starting to take off our masks and eliminating other precautions. Some are more ready than others and, for the most part, many are keeping those people in mind. For every 10 people still wearing a mask indoors, I guarantee five are doing so for the comfort of others, not for their own well-being. That’s admirable.

In time, as the mandates drop and we become more comfortable with each other, we will see more faces smiling.

We have also lost some members of our community, and they should never be forgotten. We also saved other lives through our shared sacrifice.

This transition time feels hopeful, though, some caution still remains. This is our new reality. But we should be proud we were able to do something great — beat back a pandemic. And we did it together.

Jon Mays is the editor in chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmays.