Weekly Briefing 12.11.20

 Lewis County Metrics

Cases continue to rise in Lewis County. While this is of concern, the good news is that it is beginning to appear that schools are among the safest places for children right now. During this school year, we have had only two COVID+ cases among students and staff. There are a number of families who have been close contacts and are isolating at home, but only two COVID+ cases associated with school. This is because everyone has been so diligent and responsible in using all of the tools available to slow the spread of the virus. 

We're asking that everyone keep up the good work and help us by doing the daily attestations and temperature checks, wearing masks, distancing and washing hands. Together, we're making this work out in our favor. Thank you for helping us keep our schools operating on campus. This has been a gamechanger for our students.

THS Return

COVID has impacted our subcontractors. Several of the crewmembers have tested positive and will be quarantined. As a result, important portions of the project will be delayed and will impact our ability to bring students into the new classrooms in January as we'd hoped. The team at THS is currently working on a plan for hybrid instruction using the old classroom wing. We are working on scheduling to see when a move will be possible.

It is important for us to have our high school students return and we plan to do that in a way that is safe and allows for social distancing. This will likely be a hybrid schedule of some sort. More as it becomes available.

Self-Care

Many of us recently participated in a training from Dr. Mona Johnson* on self-care during a disaster. The pandemic is a natural disaster like hurricanes, floods, fires and earthquakes. Unlike those other natural disasters, this one has a much longer duration.

In the chart above, you can see  how people respond in disasters. At the beginning, everyone is on board and working hard to survive and solve problems. This is the "honeymoon" phase that we saw in March and April.

As time moves on, we become fatigued and begin to feel the impact of the disaster more acutely. Community cooperation begins to decrease. As people try to cope, there is an increase in substance abuse, domestic violence and stress responses such as angry outbursts and overeating. We're seeing this now in protests and angry posts on social media. The holidays only serve to make this worse as people struggle with finances, missing family that they've lost or can't see and those who may be facing eviction.

Knowing that we're still in some of the darkest moments of this disaster, it is important that we all do what we can to take care of ourselves and encourage those we love to do the same. You can see more about what can be predicted by looking at the chart below.  Notice the holiday season and how this is particularly troublesome during a disaster. 

Taking care of ourselves is how we build the resilience needed to get through to the "other side" of this disaster.

Our personal mental health determines our ability to cope with the stress of this disaster. Maintaining that mental health involves taking care of ourselves. Dr. Johnson proposes that this self-care falls into 8 categories:

Take a moment and think about the ways that you're already coping in each of these areas. Are you going for walks? Do you contact friends by phone, read a book, meditate or pray? By paying attention to doing things in these areas, you build resilience to deal with the stresses that are part of surviving a disaster. You also make it possible to help others. 

On an airplane flight, the flight attendant always tells us, "When the masks drop, put your mask on first and then help others." Making sure that you have plenty of oxygen allows you to be helpful to others. If you don't have enough for yourself, you become one more person who requires assistance. You can't help others if you succumb to the disaster. This is why self-care is so important.

It isn't "weak" to do this and there is no shame in asking for help. We are all navigating difficult waters right now. Just as we always do in our community, helping one another is the way we get through and strengthen our community. It's part of Toledo Pride. Be well. Take care of yourself and one another.

*My thanks to Dr. Mona Johnson for her instruction and graphics.