'Plenty To Do'; Health Expert Says More Must Be Done To Truly Slow Coronavirus
DANVILLE (KPIX 5) -- After the second full day of the shelter-in-place order in each Bay Area county, some health experts question whether the efforts are enough.
"We're getting there, but we're not there yet," said Dr. Arthur Reingold, the Head of Epidemiology at UC Berkeley.
He worries whether the shelter-in-place is accomplishing the goal.
"We still have lots of people who are out and about, and of course people have to get their groceries, there are things that people absolutely have to do, but it's not clear to me that people are taking this quite as seriously as they need to," said Reingold.
He says the way some people are reacting to the shelter-in-place is a start, but feels more needs to be done to truly slow the spread of COVID-19 in the communities.
"Are there better ways to organize lines at grocery stores so people are not shoulder to shoulder, can we decide that perhaps certain construction isn't essential to go on for the next few weeks? I think there is room for improvement," said Reingold.
San Rafael's Peakcock Gap Golf Course is still open because it qualifies as exercise outside.
"The coronavirus, the talk about it's just been a little over the top for me. I still want to do my daily activities and get out there and enjoy life still," says Daniel O'Rourke, who was out golfing Wednesday.
"We as a community need to do a better job of perhaps some self sacrifice to reduce illness and death in other frail members of our society," Reingold advised.
He says people should be prepared to deal with this for the long haul and that we'll see the coronavirus impacting the Bay Area for months rather than just a few weeks.
