THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ** Friday, April 3, 2020 |A11B
Anopenletterfrompublichealthleadersaroundthenation:
DearFellowResidents, April3,
Aspublichealthleadersofthelargestcitiesandcountiesinthiscountry,itisour
missionanddutytoassuretransparencyduringthistimeofgreatuncertainty.
OurcountryhasnotfacedapublichealththreatlikeCOVID-19inover100years.
Withworldwidedailyincreasesinbothconfirmedcasesanddeaths,itisclearto
usaspublichealthexpertsthatthispandemicisgainingmomentumandnotsoon
subsiding.Ifwedonotactquicklyandcollaboratively,manymoreliveswillbelost
acrossourcountry.
Itdoesnooneanygoodtosoftentherealityofwhatweareconfronting.Wemust
allprepareourselvesforloss—ofnormalroutinesandservices,ofeconomic
security,and,tragically,ofmany,manylives.Theonlyquestionnowishowgreat
thelosseswillbe—anoutcomethatdependsonoursharedcommitmenttotake
individualresponsibilityandcivicaccountabilityforadheringtopreventative
measures,and,aboveallelse,to stay home.
Tosavelives,weurgentlyneedtoslowthespreadofthevirusnow.Manyofour
citieshaveputmeasuresinplacetosharplylimitthespreadofCOVID-19.Butno
mattertheextentofthesemeasures,andevenifyoufeelfine,weagainimplore
you: JustStayHome!
Weknowtherearecertainpeople,essentialworkers,whomustwork,andwe
thankthemfortheirdedication.Yourstayinghomehelpskeepthemassafe
aspossible.
Stayinghome will protectbothyouandeveryoneyouwouldotherwisecomein
contactwith.Ifeveryonestayshomeasmuchaspossible,we will limitthespread
ofthevirus,we will greatlyreducethenumberofpeoplegettingsick,andwe will
savemanylives.
Itisalsocriticaltofollowotherrecommendedandmandatorymeasurestoeasethe
burdenonourhealthcaresystem.Iftoomanypeoplerushtoouremergencyrooms
fornon-emergencycare,oursystemwillbuckleundertheweightofthedemand.
Stayhomeforyourselves.Stayhomeforyourfamilyandlovedones.Stayhome
foryourfriends.Stayhomeforyourcommunity.Stayhomeforthehealthand
prosperityofyourcountry.
Weunderstandthatwhatweareaskingofyouisnoteasy.Weknowthatformany
ofyou,soundingthisalarmmaycausefearandanxiety.But,wemust.
Whileweaskyoutostayapartphysically,weimploreyoutocometogether
emotionallyandspiritually.Togetherwearethebestdefenseagainstthispandemic.
Ingratitude,
OxirisBarbot,MD
NewYorkCity
SaraCody,MD
CountyofSantaClara
WilmaWooten,MD,MPH
SanDiegoCounty
MysheikaRoberts,MD,MPH
Columbus
TomasAragon,MD,DrPH
CityandCountyofSanFrancisco
DawnEmerickEdD,MPA
SanAntonioMetroHealthDistrict
PattyHayes,RN,MN
Seattle-KingCounty
RitaNieves,RN,MPH,LICSW
Boston
RexArcher,MD , MPH
KansasCity
DeniseFair,MPH,FACHE
Detroit
StephanieHayden,LMSW
Austin
VinnyTaneja,MBBS,MPH
TarrantCounty
AllisonArwady,MD,MPH
Chicago
TomFarley,MD,MPH
Philadelphia
PhilHuang,MD,MPH
DallasCounty
StephenWilliams,MEd,MPA
Houston
RachaelBanks,MPH
MultnomahCounty
BarbaraFerrer,PhD,MA
LosAngelesCounty
FerminLeguen,MD
SouthernNevadaHealthDistrict
KimiWatkins-Tartt
AlamedaCounty
VirginiaCaine,MD
MarionCounty
MarcyFlanagan,DBA,MPH,MA
MaricopaCounty
BobMcDonald
Denver
KellyColopy,MPP
LongBeach
MerleGordon,MPA
Cleveland
GretchenMusicant,MPH,BSN
Minneapolis
LetitiaDzirasa,MD
BaltimoreCity
GibbieHarris,MSPH,BSN,RN
MecklenburgCounty
LaQuandraNesbitt,MD,MPH
Washington,D.C.
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PaidforbyNewYorkCityDepartmentofHealthandMentalHygiene nyc.gov/health
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