Give us important coronavirus information, Stanislaus leaders — not cosmetics

On Monday, Stanislaus County officials learned that eight more of our people had died of COVID-19. They also learned that the coronavirus surge has filled every one of our available adult ICU beds.

But anyone tuning in to the county’s Monday evening video update heard nothing about either of those tragically important markers. County Supervisors Chairwoman Kristin Olsen decided to focus on hours-old news about nail and hair salons.

Not one word about the eight deaths. Nothing about zero occupancy in our intensive care unit. But hey, if you’re curious about looking snazzy, Olsen’s got you covered.

Why the emphasis on the superficial, when real people, our people — our neighbors and loved ones — are sick and dying? Has the daily ritual of transmitting depressing data become so routine that county leaders no longer see what’s truly important?

Of California’s 58 counties, we rank 56th in positive hospitalized patients per capita, and 57th in positive ICU patients per capita. With the eight fatalities reported Monday, we’ve lost 71 souls. We’re in the middle of a full-blown life-and-death crisis here, and nothing suggests it will get better any time soon.

But given a chance to show even surface concern for victims, families and survivors, Olsen passes, and instead cheerily talks about nails and hair. Incredible.

It wasn’t lost on viewers leaving comments at the county’s Office of Emergency Services Facebook page, where the video is streamed and viewed later.

“Not a word about the 8 people who died in Stan County in the last 24 hours from Covid. Not even the usual patronizing `thoughts and prayers.’ No empathy. Talked about business instead of people. Money over people,” wrote one viewer.

“So the ICUs are full and she’s worried about haircuts?” wrote another. “Are you kidding me! Poor leadership, reckless and irresponsible. With ICUs full where do Heart attack’s/strokes/motor vehicle accidents go?”

The next day, Tuesday, Olsen owned the mistake, acknowledging a lost opportunity.

She had filmed the update after a Monday noon meeting at Office of Emergency Services headquarters. The eight deaths were discussed, but she remembered no talk of the ICU crisis.

After the meeting, Olsen decided it was important to expound on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s noontime announcement about hair and nail salons operating outdoors; here in Stanislaus County, nail salons can’t do that because they had not yet reopened since the governor’s original shutdown order back in March.

There is some logic to that.

But was it the right call?

“I wish I had” covered the more important stuff, Olsen said Tuesday. Perhaps she was moving too quickly that day, going from one conference call and meeting to the next, she said.

Olsen’s error cannot be blamed on inexperience. She has worked in public relations most of her adult life. She formerly was a spokeswoman for Stanislaus State University in Turlock, now works for a lobbying firm, and has spent the past 15 years in the public eye, from a seat on the Modesto City Council to her once-lofty perch as Republican leader in the California Assembly. She will not run for reelection, making this her last year as a county supervisor.

But this isn’t Olsen’s first pandemic mistake, either.

In May, a sheriff’s helicopter whisked her and a county staff member to Los Angeles to tour an antibody testing facility, raising questions about use of public money. In early July, Olsen offered a misleading comment suggesting that things weren’t so bad because our hospitals had plenty of open beds; virulent backlash forced her to walk that back the next day.

Perhaps we’re all suffering from COVID fatigue. The strain of lost jobs, lost income and lost interaction is taking a toll on everyone.

But we can never afford to lose sight of the most important element in this pandemic: human life.

This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 4:00 AM.