COVID-19 and Our Children
Updated: May 19, 2020
The following is a letter I have sent out to all of the administrative staff and principals in our school district.
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I am writing to you as an informed parent of three children. As a parent, I teach my children to not only respect the law but to think critically about public policies because it is their civic duty as American citizens to question authority when an authority figure is behaving in a way that is dangerous to them.
Our children have been hit hard by the stay at home. I believe they have the right to be defended against unlawful and unnecessary force. The stay at home order poses a direct threat to their emotional, physical, and social well-being. It is with that sentiment, that I am speaking up for the children. I am compelled to share the facts as they relate to Governor Newsom's executive order, the scientific data that is publicly available on The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and The California Health and Human Services Open Data Portal. I kindly request that you, as an educator begin to question the validity of the extended stay at home order and the subsequent demands that Governor Newsom has placed on schools to date as of May 14, 2020.
Margaret Mead so poignantly said, "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." I believe we have the power to come together to do what's best for our children and their future. I hope you can receive the information I am providing to you with an open mind and willingness to change the world for the better. I understand there is a tremendous weight on your shoulders to make very difficult decisions. I appreciate the work you do to help raise and educate our children.
On March 19, 2020, Governor Newsom signed the executive order for all Californians to shelter in place to ensure that those needing access to healthcare would have access to healthcare. Those that were considered to be most vulnerable to needing healthcare due to complications from an infection of Covid-19, according to Newsom, were the "incarcerated, the homeless, and the elderly."
At no point were our children thought of or considered to be in danger of death by COVID-19. It was clear from the research that COVID-19 while serious for some, presents itself a-symptomatically for most. In fact, on March 19, 2020, Newsom said we must, "overly focus on the people over the age of 65" and he said, "I will tell you what I told my wife and family; schools will not be resuming this year.”
At this point we need to determine whether those decisions made in March were based on facts or on fear and further, to determine how to move forward based on what we now know. While our elementary schools have said they will open in the fall, I am concerned that you will be influenced by other decisions being made by California State Universities. On May 13, 2020, CNN reported that, "The California State University system has plans to cancel nearly all in-person classes through the fall semester to reduce the spread of the coronavirus." It is my hope that our elementary schools will resume in the fall without forcing our children to wear masks and keep six feet apart.
The stay at home order was implemented; to ensure health care for those in need. The United States had a detailed understanding of COVID-19 in January, 2020 based on the Chinese CDC’s understanding of the virus. We understood from the beginning of this pandemic that those that were at highest risk of needing access to health care were and continue to be people with Heart Disease, Diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, cancer and those living in assisted nursing care facilities.
On March, 19, 2020, Governor Newsom signed the EXECUTIVE ORDER N-33-20
1) To preserve the public health and safety, and to ensure the healthcare delivery system is capable of serving all, and prioritizing those at the highest risk and vulnerability, all residents are directed to immediately heed the current State public health directives, which I ordered the Department of Public Health to develop for the current statewide status of COVID-19. In a live press conference on March 19, 2020, Governor Newsom said the following: "We estimate that 30-70% (12,000,000 to 28,000,000 people) of the 40 million Californians will contract COVID-19. He said, "The virus would attack 56% of Americans and the vast majority won't have symptoms."
To date, May 14, 2020, 1,065,592 lab tests have been conducted statewide in California.
Of those tested, 71,141 people in California have tested positive for COVID-19.
To date, May 14, 2020, 2,934 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in California since February 6 when we had our first COVID-19 related death in Santa Clara County.
While the world is focusing on COVID-19 we must give some perspective as to what the normal death toll in America has been all along because we are being sold a narrative that is not including the pandemics that were already prevalent before we heard about COVID-19. The media is sending out alarming clickbait creating fear in the general public and so it is essential that we take all numbers into consideration so we have some basis of perspective and a thorough understanding of death and dying in Americ