The Wall Street Journal - 03.04.2020

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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