41 - California Lockdown (3.20.2020)

It's official: Sacramento County (and now all of California) residents have been formally ordered to stay at home and only go out for essential activities in response to public health concerns over COVID-19.
 
The VOICES: crew once again has epidemiologist Flojaune Cofer on to discuss the latest coronavirus updates. But this time we're all practicing social distancing. We recorded this episode from our respective homes using a Zoom meeting!
 
We start off with a discussion on what the mandate means not just for all residents, but for those communities who are particularly vulnerable, and who historically have experienced abuse from law enforcement. 
 
The latest numbers of confirmed cases are regularly evolving, but at the time of recording Thursday evening, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center showed 13,680 confirmed cases in the United States, with 200 deaths (a 1.46% mortality rate). The San Francisco Chronicle showed somewhat different numbers than JHU for California, with 1,008 confirmed cases (463 in the Bay Area), and 19 deaths. That's about a 1.9% mortality rate.
 
We then turn to Shannon to examine Governor Gavin Newsom's call to shelter folks experiencing homelessness. As an emergency service provider for women and children experiencing homelessness, Shannon has seen absolutely no response from city, county or state officials to help shelter her guests. An utter systemic failure.
 
Finally--and we know this one is going to get us in trouble--we discuss the Boomer problem. In a hilarious twist of fate, Millennials now find themselves yelling at Mom and Dad for going out, in the same way their parents did to them two decades ago. We discuss our fears over losing our loved ones, and how to handle the cavalier approach that so many of those over 65 have been approaching the global pandemic.
 
This is a long episode, but we know we have a captive audience. Enjoy! And, as always:

Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the lovely tunes.