Help us tell the stories of those who have died from coronavirus in SLO County
Seven San Luis Obispo County residents died from coronavirus last week.
On Sunday, news of the death of the 16th local who tested positive for COVID-19 reached my email inbox: a person in their 90s who lived in a care facility that has been struggling with an outbreak. It’s likely that as you read this, these numbers will have already changed.
After more than a dozen local deaths, these news releases announcing the passing of someone due to coronavirus are almost predictable in their format. They include a number, a sentence about the person’s age and vulnerability, a statement from a public health official stating sorrow at the loss of a community member and a request for everyone to continue to do their part to halt the spread of this virus.
What the releases don’t include are names of those who have died — or any account of the lives they led.
As a result, we know very little about the 16 people who have succumbed to coronavirus in San Luis Obispo County.
We want to change that.
The Tribune is looking to connect with the families and friends of those 16 people who have died since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in San Luis Obispo County. We want to tell the stories of those who have died, and the stories of those who are left behind to grieve in this strange time.
Every single one of those numbers is a person. Each number is one of your neighbors.
We know this is a sensitive request, and it’s one we don’t make lightly.
Up front we want to make it clear that we do not wish to invade the privacy of those family members who are grieving the loss of their loved ones. If you are a family member of someone who died, and you don’t want to talk to The Tribune about this, we completely understand. We respect your need for privacy.
But we also know that sometimes the scariest thing about losing a loved one is the fear they will be forgotten.
I can vouch for this personally.
My grandma died from COVID-19 last month. She was in a care facility in the Valley that had a sudden outbreak among its patients. Her decline was both excruciatingly slow and at the same time much too quick for those of us who loved her dearly.
I can’t easily express the complicated emotions of losing someone to a global pandemic. But one of the hardest parts has been seeing her amazing, beautiful life reduced just to “another coronavirus death.”
That’s what I’m hoping to change here in San Luis Obispo County. Those who have died from this pandemic don’t have to disappear quietly into the dark.
They deserve more than that.
For those local families and friends who do wish to speak to someone about their loved ones, I’m here.
We’ve created the form below for you to easily share some of their stories. If you would rather reach out to me directly to talk, or you want to remain anonymous, please email me at kleslie@thetribunenews.com or call 805-781-7928.
If you are a friend wishing to talk about the passing of your loved one, please make sure you have permission from the family to do so first.
And if the form is not working, you can also click here to access it.
Together we can put faces to those we have lost due to coronavirus. Thank you for your help.
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