I think there should be a “Truth and Reconciliation Committee“ similar to what South Africa did in the 1990s. Its purpose would be to figure out what was done right, and also what actions caused more problems and more pain.

I believe that way too much power was given to the local county health directors (e.g., Sara Cody). Their ideas were important in the first weeks and month (when we were in the “fog of war” phase). But their sole focus was on limiting the spread of the virus, not on keeping the economy running, or providing children with a good education.

The result has been a deepening mental health crisis, loss of many small businesses, and missed learning for our kids (especially in lower income areas).

My two cents.

Janice: "I think there should be a “Truth and Reconciliation Committee“ similar to what South Africa did in the 1990s...I believe that way too much power was given to the local county health directors."

Are you trying to not so subtly compare our county's COVID response to apartheid?

I completely agree that we need to look at the power that non-elected health officials have had in the past two years. Our county is very different from the north to the south and a one size fits all in one county whereas the next county is only a mile or so away has very different rules made very little sense.

The Bay Area is a region and having differing rules were a nightmare particularly when it came to things such as being able to drive more than 5 miles or where to get a haircut.

I think some type of deep research into how these different rules for different counties made any difference and also which rules really helped keep us safe and which ones just meant that some small businesses couldn't keep up. When I saw that some small retail establishments were getting fined because a certain piece of legislative paperwork was posted at the wrong place near the door, it showed that issuing fines was much more a power grab, than actually helping the struggling business with helping them to put the offending piece of paperwork in the right place.

Yes, covid has severely limited our lives. But there are no things in the world to which a man has not adapted.