We have to learn to live with COVID-19

When it comes to any decisions at the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, I weigh the different outcomes. Whether it’s deciding on an upcoming vote, or reopening businesses during a pandemic, it is my job as a policymaker to make sure that we are balancing the public health side and the economic side.

There will always be risks with life. For the past 30 years, I’ve been an airline pilot. Every flight, people have taken the risks boarding the plane. I make calculations based on dozens of different variables in order to make sure we get to our final destination, safely.

When it comes to COVID-19, we shouldn’t be choosing between the economy or public health; we can have both. We have to get people back to work as safely as we can.

I’ve heard from many that we need to wait a few more weeks, but businesses don’t have weeks. People paying rent or their mortgage don’t have weeks.

We currently have 1,200 beds set aside for COVID-19 patients in San Diego County. Even at our peak we’ve never used half of them. This is great news. While much has been made about hospital capacity, only about 10% of those in the hospital are there for COVID-19.

We have to learn to live with this disease. We cannot continue to stay hunkered down. We need to strike a balance between keeping people safe and allowing some risks and keeping our economy open.