Assignment 6 - Political Climate/Public Policy Assessment – due 4/18 County 1: __Orange County____ Identified Force 1: Type: ___Liberal Leaning Political Climate_________ ____Factor_______ Category: __Political____________ Explanation: Orange County is a liberal leaning county with just over 50% of registered voters voting democrat in the last presidential election. Masks are much more enforced in a liberal climate, and more mask wearing has been shown to help lower rates of COVID-19. Identified Force 2: Type: __Social Media______ ____Trends______ Category: _Technological _________ Explanation: Orange County is one of the more technologically advanced counties in the state. This comes alot of social media presence and media being broadcasted through social media. Social media is where most young teens get their COVID-19 news and information. Identified Force 3: Type: __Rates of Unemployment_____ ____Factor____ Category: ___Economic_______ Explanation: Orange County was ranked as one the worst counties when it came down to Unemployment rates. I think the low ranking in unemployment can be looked at in a negative light, but when it comes to COVID numbers I think that it helped with lowering numbers countywide with everyone being at home. Identified Force 4: Type: __Restaurants closing down____ _____Factor____ Category: __Social____ Explanation: Due to the liberal nature of Orange County all restaurants were closed down very quickly towards the start of the pandemic and many are still closed to this day. I think this helped slow to spread of COVID-19 while preventing people to go out. Identified Force 5: Type: ____Healthcare_______ ____Factor_______ Category: ___Social_____ Explanation: Orange County has played a major role in rolling out vaccinations to those eligible. The county recently surpassed over 2 million vaccinations and is rolling out more and more vaccines as we speak which is helping lower the rate of COVID-19. Identified Force 6: Type: _Nightlife_____ ___Factor______ Category: _____Social_______ Explanation: Orange County has some of the most prime Nightlife experiences in California, and I think that due to this many residents of the county did not want to stop going out although there was a pandemic. Identified Force 7: Type: ____Religious Gatherings____ _____Factor_____ Category: ___Ethical __________ Explanation: At the start of the pandemic Orange County had all types of religious gatherings banned due to COVID-19. This is obviously done to help slow the spread of COVID-19 but I think that it is wrong to be able to dictate people’s religious lives. Identified Force 8: Type: __Sick pay Law______ ___Event_____ Category: __Legal_____ Explanation: Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 95, legislation to ensure access to up to 80 hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for eligible employees Identified Force 9: Type: ______Workers protection law______ _____Event_______ Category: ____Legal_________ Explanation: SB 1159 expands access to workers’ compensation for first responders, healthcare workers and other employees who contract COVID-19 within 14 days of a notified workplace outbreak. Identified Force 10: ______Limited Stay at Home order____ Type: __Event_____ Category: ____Social_____ Explanation: Although this stay at home order was statewide, I think it had a great effect on slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Orange County specifically. With OC being such a social and outgoing count with plenty of nightlife and things to do at night, the stay at home order really helped slow COVID in the county. County 2: Madera Identified Force 1: Type: School’s reopening Trend Category: Social / Legislative Explanation: Madera County is starting to open schooling for elementary kids. It is introducing about 8k students in March while the remaining students of 3,000 continue to use online resources. Many have speculated this could cause the cases of COVID to rise. Link: https://abc30.com/madera-unified-back-to-school-open/10426595/ Identified Force 2: Type: CDC recommendations 6 feet apart and wearing a mask Factor Category: Social/Ethical Explanation: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued different methods to decrease and limit one's odds of contracting COVID-19. A couple of these have been spread out nationally such as being 6 feet away from a person and wearing a mask. Link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-gettingsick/prevention.html#:~:text=Stay%20at%20least%206%20feet,of%20getting%20very%20sick. Identified Force 3: Type: Unemployment Trend Category: Economic Explanation: Due to COVID the Unemployment is pretty high. Madera itself has increased by 1 percent and the central valley itself has reached a 6-year high which looks closely one decade after the Great Recession. Many people lost their jobs during the pandemic and that has impacted the economy of America. Link: https://thebusinessjournal.com/valleys-2020-covid-unemployment-rate-hits-six-year-high/ Identified Force 4: Type: Agricultural/Essential workers Factor Category: Environmental Explanation: The governor of California has stated he wants to help those who are currently working to be safe and protected. Latinos are a huge population in California and they are one of the highest groups to test positive for COVID as well as the highest death caused by the virus. COVID has caused people to become more aware of these issues that are happening to workers. Link: https://www.maderacounty.com/government/public-health/corona-virus-covid19/covidinfoespanol Identified Force 5: Type: The impact COVID has on insurance Event Category: Economic Explanation: With COVID this caused many people to lose their jobs and this causes even more people to become afraid of losing their insurance. The government and the insurance industry had to change the ways it has been done before. Link: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/reports/2021/03/11/497019/policiesimprove-health-insurance-coverage-america-recovers-covid-19/ https://www.epi.org/publication/health-insurance-and-the-covid-19-shock/ Identified Force 6: Type: Vaccinations Factor/event Category: Scientific Explanation: Since COVID became spread worldwide one thing that scientists and doctors wanted to find was a vaccine for it. The vaccine has been worked on continuously and now to this day, 3 different vaccinations are available in the U.S. This has allowed new research to be conducted. Link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines.html Identified Force 7: Type: Legal actions taken. Trend Category: Legal Explanation: At the start of COVID the lawsuits that were rising involved nursing homes and cruises. One expected that was as large in numbers were employment class actions but there wasn’t much. Insurance lawsuits were common concerning business, but they have decreased as time went on. Link: https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law-firms-schools-identify-lawsuits-filed-over-covid-19in-2020 Identified Force 8: Type: The conditions workers go through Trend Category: Ethical/Political Explanation: Companies and factories have and continue to misuse and mistreat their workers. Even before the pandemic workers who didn’t have the ability to quit or change jobs had to work in terrible conditions. COVID has highlighted what could be done for them and ways to make improvements in their work environment and life. Link: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/article248931654.html Identified Force 9: Type: Accessibility and improvement of tech Trends Category: Technological Explanation: Since the beginning of COVID there have been approaches that have changed so that communities could be safer. This has allowed technology to become accessible and has caused people to realize the importance technology can have. Such as roadside pickup, schooling, and more. Link:https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/06/eight-post-covid-tech-trendsexpected-to-grow-exponentially/?sh=1be25de967b4 Identified Force 10: The impact COVID has had on pollution Type: Trend/Factor Category: Environmental Explanation: With people now staying in-doors at the start of the pandemic and some still do. There was a noticeable decline in pollution involving the air, water, and land. While this may have been short-lived, this has provided information to environmentalists and scientists to use that to help the planet. Link:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201208162957.htm
