COVID-19

The Coronavirus situation the last 72 hours has changed our lives drastically.  Many of our local, state, university, and professional athletes have had their seasons and championship runs suspended.  The City of Hillsboro and the region were looking forward to cheering on our Hillsboro/Central Valley Burros to another basketball championship.  I realize that it will be hard to make sense of everything that has happened the last couple of days, but our nations leadership is trying hard to prevent a catastrophic medical crisis.  There are some potential courses of action that are being taken, one of these is/was the postponement of in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the U.S.  Another possible breakthrough is the use of purified blood plasma from recovered Coronavirus patients.  This technique goes back to successes experienced during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 and a measles outbreak at a Pennsylvania boarding school in 1934.  The case reports from 1918 describe a 50% reduction in deaths among severely ill patients using this technique.  This method of treatment could be the first line of defense until a vaccine is created that will prevent Covid-19.  Until then, the best way to prevent the illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus which is mainly spread person-to-person.  Stay at least 6 feet away from people that are sneezing and coughing.  These may result in respiratory droplets that could potentially land in your mouth or nose and worse case make it into your lungs.  Wash your hands frequently and for at least 20 seconds to kill any germs.  Also, try not to touch your face and mouth which could spread the germs.  The City of Hillsboro is coordinating our Coronavirus response with Traill County and the State.  Unfortunately, we are thinking about complicating factors for potential flooding and group responses for sandbagging and the movement of victims for example.  We are hoping that the regions farmers aren’t impacted by potential transportation issues because of sickness or sick farmers and their help slowing down planting operations.  Finally, remember we are all in this together and stay safe, while helping wherever you can in the next couple of months.


Terry
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