On a clear September day in New York, millions of people shuffled to work via subways, taxi’s and walks, it was business as usual. Until 08:46 in the morning. The unprecedented had happened. A commercial aircraft had struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. As other time zones awoke to the news, we all began to question; How could this happen!? Was it faulty navigation? Pilot error? At 09:03 we had our answer. When the second commercial aircraft struck the South Tower, we understood that this was a coordinated attack on America. The Pentagon was stuck next at 09:37 and at 10:03 hijacked flight 93 was driven to the ground by brave unarmed civilians to prevent further loss of life. Sacrificing themselves for the greater good.
It was the first time since Pearl Harbor that we were blindsided by a large scale attack on US soil.
In the days that followed, the sky’s were eerily silenced, save for military fighters flying combat sorties in defense of our homeland.
The American way of life was ground to a halt on the tip of a box cutter. The Executive branch, Federal Flight Administration, and other agencies began enacting safety measures and new protocols for flight safety. These measures lead to the formation of Homeland Security, reinstated The US Air Marshall’s Program and formed the Transportation Safety Administration.(TSA)
We could no longer see our loved ones off at the gates of the airport, we scan ourselves in with tickets that match our State or Federal Government Identification, we had our shoes tested for explosives and our baggage swabbed for explosive residue. In the early days it was not uncommon to see National Guardsmen and Women patrolling our airport in full kit with M-16’s.
The new normal, as most call it after a tragic event, became a standard. To this day, we adhere to these standards as a deterrent to future attacks.
What does any of this have to do with Covid-19?
We have a globally unprecedented event. The closest we can come with this pandemic is the incorrectly dubbed “Spanish Flu” pandemic of 1918. It was not Spanish (Spain) in origin, it originated in Ft. Riley Kansas, amongst GI’s coming and going from the Western front of World War I. It was a strain of H1N1, and with no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly.
100 Years Ago Seattle Police enforcing protocols
Masks, social distancing (physical distance) and PPE have become commonplace and will continue for the seeable future.
Our way of life has, again, ground to a halt.
Since the beginning of Covid-19, businesses have struggled, both large and small.
New mandates, sanctions, fines for non compliance and just like the events of 9-11, someone has to pay for the newly enacted measures. The American taxpayer took the brunt of it, in a post 9-11 world. Who absorbed the cost of Covid-19?
So far, it has been businesses, again, both large and small. Temperature check machines, masks, extra staff, hand sanitizers… every measure and service put in place has cost the owners to stay open. All while having a reduction of capacity based on Fire Marshall’s occupancy rates.
Where is the incentive, to an owner, to do the right thing? To go beyond protocols?
Why not scale the percentage of occupancy, based on provable cases from any given establishment?
Our new normal, for now, is personal responsibility to our own communities using the same protocols utilized in the 1918 H1N1 Pandemic. We can and should be doing more to implement solutions that are not century old. We have the vaccine rolling out, businesses are following the guidelines set forth by the Government, “what more can we do?”
Professional Sterilization Services that mitigate the virus, killing it on contact via a microscopic bed of blades that puncture the virus, rendering it enert.
This service is a new industry, as such, most people do not understand the science nor necessity of a technological advancement such as this.
Sterile-19 is the Las Vegas Leader in this technology. With proprietary solutions that are inorganic, CDC and FDA approved. No down time for business. You can remain open, with customers on site as we apply the non-chemical barrier. No toxic fumes, no delay in operations and no lost revenue.
Have we not evolved science and technology in the past 100 years?
Let the businesses decide what is best for them and their customers, with the understanding that you must show the measures the business is enacting for safety as you do now. Perhaps with the right combination of Technology and State requirements, we can keep our communities open, at a higher percentage rate of occupancy.
State mandated protocols are well intentioned to keep the public safe. If you can prove you are going beyond the State Protocols, should you not be rewarded for that effort? 50% or 75% of capacity, instead of the blanket 25% from the State, regardless of provable cases at a given location?
Veteran Owned and Operated
Proud members of the UNLV Loyalty Circle, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, BBB