The news seems to get worse each day regarding the coronavirus. How is it affecting Sun Valley (part of greater Los Angeles)? As of today, Mayor Eric Garretti has called for the closures of all nightclubs, entertainment venues, bars, movie theaters, and gyms until March 31. Read the Mayor’s tweet here.

This, no doubt will have a negative effect on business in Sun Valley as well as all other communities in the area. The Mayor has allowed restaurants to remain open for take-out or delivery orders which may help somewhat to ease the burden this will cause to the economy in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and spread.

With that said, we need to continue to remain optimistic while continuing to take precautions in dealing with the COVID-19 virus. Hopefully our efforts will be beneficial and this imposed “social distancing” will help prevent a larger spread throughout the community. Many people in Sun Valley, myself included, will continue to go to work to keep the paychecks coming while doing what we can to remain safe—things like washing hands frequently, avoiding touching our faces, etc.

Despite a constant barrage of seemingly dire reports almost hourly, we need to keep some perspective in this situation. While we don’t have the most accurate numbers on infections, the mortality rate for this virus remains relatively low. Experts continually claim that most who contract the virus may not even be aware of it and may experience mild symptoms. Other viruses like the H1N1 virus from the early 2000s saw 13,000 deaths as a result and yet there wasn’t the semi-hysteria associated with that outbreak like we’re seeing from this one.

We in Sun Valley, as well as the rest of California and the nation, also need to mindful of our neighbors. Hoarding of supplies (e.g., toilet paper) makes it more difficult for the less well-off among us (lower income families, the elderly) to buy necessities. Since I call Sun Valley home, I’m reaching out to my neighbors to ask us all to stop and think not about ourselves but on the others in our community who may need extra help. It can be as simple as helping an older person in the grocery store to get the supplies they need or volunteering to deliver to the elderly who can’t get out of their homes at this time.

Let’s all please take a moment to consider each other’s needs and try to be good neighbors. Let it start with Sun Valley and let this be the thing that spreads throughout the country.