This time last year we were carrying on with our daily routines, aware of but perhaps not obsessively consumed by news of the coronavirus. In just a couple of weeks, however, 2020 would take a grim turn as increasing cases of COVID-19 would lead to shelter-in-place orders, empty streets, and family rooms doubling as remote classrooms.
Southwestern College was one of the first to ask students and faculty to stay off campus.
Twelve months later we are still living in the shadow of the pandemic. As of Wednesday there were 2,683 COVID-19 related deaths county-wide, and 25,934 cases of the virus in Chula Vista while National City reports 6,518 cases.
Businesses are still struggling to stay open as they operate within parameters that straddle the line between economic survival and public safety. (It should be noted that plenty of moms and pops unapologetically flouted guidelines and conducted business as usual during these dark days)
The bustling cacophony that punctuates daily routines is still absent from area campuses, though some schools have experimented with hybrid approaches to learning.
At first glance it may feel as though nothing has changed. But here we are, a year later and we know more about COVID-19 than we did when we started.
We know how it spreads, we know how to treat it, and we know how to prevent it
Vaccine centers have sprouted throughout the county. While the number of vaccines has been limited and the process to sign up for the shots has been frustrating, confusing and cumbersome they are nevertheless available. More will get here. Eventually. Sooner rather than later.
We are making progress. We are getting back to the routines we once knew.
Next week the Southwestern College Governing Board will host presentations by selected candidates who want to fill two vacated seats. A decision should be made by the end of the month. Those changes are in addition to the retiring of Kindred Murillo as the college’s superintendent/president and the appointment of Mark Sanchez as her successor.
The routine exercise in changing leadership is a welcome reminder of mundane events that characterized life before the pandemic. And an example that we are still moving forward.
