12-16
Poverty and shooting mar Durham during Covid: https://indyweek.com/news/durham/shootings-drugs-hayti-district/
12-20
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/20/us/covid-thanksgiving-effect.html
Moving forward: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/opinion/sunday/trump-presidency-accountability.html
The death of independent restaurants: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/opinion/sunday/restaurants-closing-covid.html
12-23
Homeschooling exacerbates stratification, putting families on different playing fields: https://indyweek.com/news/orange/neighborhood-support-circles-refugee-community-partnership/
12-28
“If you can come up with a vaccine in a year, why are we sitting in a community where there is no grocery store with fresh fruits and vegetables.”
https://twitter.com/nhannahjones/status/1343716480421138438
12-30
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/opinion/promote-black-vaccination.html
My year-end wrap: https://indyweek.com/news/durham/opinion-berenbaum-year-we-learned-hate/
12-31
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/opinion/coronavirus-vaccines-expiring.html
The reality of nursing homes: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/opinion/sunday/covid-nursing-homes.html
My dad, a medical center physician, in his corny dad way, has renamed Operation Warp Speed Operation Dead Speed, attesting to its dysfunction and slowness.
1-2
The social fabric of America is unraveling: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/us/crime-poverty-pandemic-cleveland.html
1-6
Trump rioters invade the Capitol: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJt7l5AFrZ6vUjJGbsDhwfwTcYbOD6rxEfI6zw0
We've come undone.
1-18
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/opinion/biden-covid-19-plan.html
1-19
Where I ask over email our DDI and downtown business leaders not to reopen too fast and the reaction I got:
Sorry to use this thread for something off topic, but has there been any interest in pushing on City Council to do another shutdown? I'm getting many more anecdotal case reports from supermarket workers, baristas, grocery owners, etc. Our staff is coming to work every day anxious now. I know a shutdown similar to April is not business-friendly, but I think we need to put public health first here. We posted the attached to IG, FB, and Twitter and got positive responses/views.Hi Ari—
This is a very difficult decision and one where the arguments on both sides are compelling. My personal opinion is that while a complete shutdown of businesses may cause numbers to trend down, it will also put a number of individuals in an even more precarious position—restaurant and retail and other small business employees not having steady or reliable incomes (and in some cases medical insurance). I believe that the restaurants in downtown are doing everything they absolutely must (and in many cases going beyond the bare minimum) to ensure that they remain open and their employees (and customers) remain safe and healthy. The added resources and assistance from Greenlight Durham provides additional assistance in tracking of cases, listing of testing sites, and other COVID-related resources.
I won’t argue as to why the numbers are increase (eating out vs small family/intimate gatherings indoors). However, by allowing small businesses to stay open, the owners can decide what the appropriate response/answer is for their given situation and in downtown we are seeing each business owner decide what makes the most sense for not just the business operations but, in many cases, what is the most responsible thing to do to protect employees. Due to a lack of any significant and comprehensive federal, state, and/or local small business assistance, it is difficult to advocate for a complete shutdown as this would place an intense financial stress (on top of the stress many businesses are already carrying).
These are my personal thoughts. It is a difficult situation we are in and I think many thought we’d be a little further along in combating this virus. Regardless, as we continue to move forward, no matter how slowly, it remains difficult to plan when there’s so much uncertainty. I rely on the one-on-one conversations I have with multiple business owners in downtown to try and advocate what makes the most sense and provides the most benefit to the overall downtown business community. The wants and needs of a restaurant owner vs a salon owner vs a retail shop vs a live venue space are so varied and each must be considered. I continue to believe that the business owners in downtown will operate in a safe and responsible manner.
Nicole Thompson
President & CEO
Downtown Durham, Inc.
Thanks for sending. I appreciate your thoughts. Just to be clear, I would still encourage restaurants to do takeout and outdoor dining. I think that is the best path until most of the vaccines are distributed. I think the fact that the mayor and city council have not enforced any type of stay-at-home order with the exception of going out for food/supplies/etc. (as we did in April) is foolhardy and leading to needless disease and death. Evidently we've become numb to the numbers of the sick and dying and have accepted it as a byproduct of our need to keep things open through this surge in cases. The fact that most of the disease burden falls on lower income folks just reinforces my distaste for how this has been handled.
County | Total Cases | Total Deaths | Date | Rate Per 10,000 | % of all cases by date | New Cases | New Deaths | 7 Day New Cases Avg | Cases per 10,000 last 7 days | Cases per 10,000 last 14 days |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/opinion/joe-biden-2020-campaign-democrats.html
1-20
We know that the new variant of Covid is out there and may be 50% more transmissible and we are still not locking down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variant_of_Concern_202012/01
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/health/coronavirus-variants-immunity.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/health/coronavirus-variant-california.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/well/live/covid-b117-variant-advice.html
1-21
The UK struggles: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/world/europe/uk-hospitals-covid-variant.html
1-22
This American Life on the Capitol Riots: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-american-life/id201671138?i=1000506432552
1-25
15 Durhamites died last week of Covid. How many more need to die before the city takes steps to keep people from gathering and mixing?