The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is proving to be one of the most profound and challenging crises of many or our lifetimes.  The steps the state, county and local governments have taken include urging social distancing, canceling non-essential events, enacting a moratorium on evictions of tenants and small businesses for those unable to pay rent due to coronavirus, and stepping up to support small businesses and the workers who are being hit hard by the economy.

The steps that we take now to slow the spread of transmission may be inconvenient, but they’re absolutely necessary and offer the only immediate approach to minimizing the already considerable impact of the pandemic, both in terms of public health in the short term and the economic consequences in the longer term.

We’re all in this together, and we all need to do our part. That includes the basics like washing your hands frequently, staying home if you’re sick, and avoiding non-essential large gatherings. It also means checking in on your neighbors if they’re elderly or otherwise isolated, and supporting local small businesses that are facing huge challenges at the moment and in too many cases struggling to get by.

COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. To set it right, we have to focus on keeping people healthy, restoring jobs, and rebuilding our economy.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit California in March, my team and I got to work volunteering our time to check on vulnerable veterans and bringing food and PPE to local nurses. 

As State Senator, I will listen to medical experts, fight for policies that protect public health, and work to:

• Secure additional help for local businesses and workers recovering from COVID-19 through low-cost loans and incentives for hiring and expansion.
• Build our health care infrastructure and expand Medi-Cal to reduce the burden of healthcare costs and improve our emergency response.
• Improve services and support for seniors so that safety doesn’t mean isolation and seniors stay active and healthy.
• Invest in the UC & CSU systems to train doctors, nurses, researchers, and medical Professionals and give more Californians a path to these professions.
• Help parents and students adjust to distance learning models and improve our schools’ ability to provide quality remote learning.