In the spring, while New York suffered untold devastation from the COVID-19 pandemic, California was so successful in keeping the virus at bay that at least one expert called it the “California miracle.”
So when the coronavirus began to proliferate with unprecedented fury in November, transforming California into the epicenter of the pandemic, health experts and residents struggled to understand what had gone wrong.
Now, with the crisis showing signs of easing, the main reason for the catastrophic surge is coming into focus: a false confidence that the pandemic could be kept in check. For the public, that complacency showed up in fatigue and frustration over safety restrictions. Officials, for their part, were caught off-guard by how rapidly, and how broadly, the virus spread once the numbers began to climb.
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Bob Harris gave his family one final gift.
He told them he did not want to be placed on a ventilator. He was at peace and ready to meet Jesus. Then, when his family was just not prepared for him to stop the fight against COVID-19, he agreed to be intubated. For a week.
A week wasn’t enough.
His wife, Marilou, had dropped him off at the emergency room on Oct. 29 with a hopeful, “Sweetie, I’ll come and get you tomorrow morning.” The 61-year-old motivational speaker had felt sick enough that day to seek a doctor’s care but well enough to mail bills and his absentee ballot en route to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.