Hard hit by COVID-19, where does Valley go from here?

Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and our nation is seeing alarming spread of this deadly virus — with more than 155,942 deaths and rising rates of spread. California continues to feel the impacts, with the San Joaquin Valley especially hard hit and fighting to contain the virus.

The coronavirus knows no geographical, social or economic boundaries. It does not discriminate. It’s our enemy and we are at war. When you compare the U.S. metrics worldwide there are stark differences. We have 4.25% of the world’s population, 26% of the world’s positive cases and 22% of the world’s deaths. This did not need to happen.

Yet, we still have no national plan. Instead, President Donald Trump has left this war to states, largely ignoring our top medical experts and scientists. Today, we are left with 50 state battle plans, all competing for much-needed and necessary testing and protective supplies. And we are failing.

Americans are looking for answers. They wonder what’s gone wrong, and ask: “How can the richest and most-advanced country in the world be taken down so quickly?” They’re fighting to hold on — reeling as they face the prospect of losing their home, job or business.

We cannot wait to act if we want to fully open our economy and our schools.

We should never politicize a pandemic, and that is not my goal here. I want action. I want to encourage all of my colleagues — local, state and federal elected leaders from both parties — to come together to develop a regional plan to help the Valley turn the tide of this battle we are losing.

We cannot retreat. We must:

• Improve education and outreach to underserved communities, including farmworkers who are the backbone of our agriculture community and are being deeply affected.

• Fix our testing models to ensure appointments are immediately available and accessible for anyone who needs a test.

• Accelerate test results to under 48 hours to ensure health officials can quickly work to contain outbreaks.

• Secure supplies for all regional hospitals and clinics so that our health-care teams can care for our sick.

• Activate and trust our community based organizations to create plans to help our most vulnerable.

• Act, without hesitation, and without political motivation.

In Congress, we have provided four bipartisan relief packages to aid the American people, sending $3 trillion into our communities to provide a safety net for small businesses, displaced workers, hospitals and local communities. It has not been enough.

Congress this week is negotiating a fifth package. The House of Representatives passed the Heroes Act on May 15. It was designed to provide additional support for states and local governments, increase funding for testing and our health-care facilities, extend unemployment insurance until Jan. 31, further assist small business, create a safety net for American agriculture — including farm workers — and help with the devastating social and economic impacts from the virus. It also creates a plan for the future by funding medical schools in underserved areas — an effort I lead — that would help us close the gap on our well-documented physician shortage in the Valley.

These funds are intended to give our local and state leaders an arsenal to fight this battle on all fronts. We can only defeat this enemy by coordinating our battle plans between local and state governments, county health departments, hospitals and clinics, schools and businesses. Gov. Newsom has already pledged $52 million more to support the Valley. And I thank him.

We also need your help. We need every American to do their part. The only way to get life back on track is if we all act responsibly by staying home, limiting contact with people outside your household, wearing masks, washing hands and isolating if we are infected.

I spend every day with my staff talking to members of this community, working to coordinate efforts. We have had successes, including getting more state testing sites into our smaller communities and improving supply chains, helping small businesses access forgivable loans and disaster assistance, helping individuals get stimulus payments, and much more.

Our work is nowhere near complete. I remain committed and steadfast. We can — and we will — win this battle. Let’s come together as Americans to defeat this virus.

This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 9:26 PM.