McKeon Group is a consulting firm that provides strategic analysis, public relations, advocacy and comprehensive government relations for their clients
04/21/2020
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
During my lifetime, there have been many stories shared in our family about the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 that ravished the world for two years.
There exists a misconception that Spain was affected by the H1N1 flu in 1918 disproportionately, but those of us that study history will recall that the Great War was ravaging Europe at the time, Spain remained neutral in the conflict. As a neutral country, the Spanish Press was able to report on the global pandemic with fewer restrictions than their war-torn neighbors. The Spanish news dominated the global headlines with regards to the pandemic, and the name unfortunately stuck till today. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.
It has really hit home to me seeing as we are dealing with the COVID—19 Pandemic.
My grandparents lived in the small town of Milford, Utah which is about two hundred miles southwest of Salt Lake City. My grandparents had several children. My uncle Burt, who was the fourth son to my grandparents right after my father, died of Spanish Flu in the winter at age four. The family was devastated, particularly my grandmother who was sick herself. Yet, putting aside their personal tragedy, my grandfather and his eldest, my uncle Jack, would go to each neighbor and offer to bring milk and groceries and help in whatever way they could.
I am reminded of that story when I see the news now; that even though some of us have suffered insurmountable pain there too have been so many wonderful things that Americans have done to help their friends, family and neighbors and I am hopeful and optimistic that we will get through this together.
The pandemic has caused us to experience very uncertain and tumultuous economic times. The House and Senate have passed the CARES Act, President Trump has signed it into law. Direct payments to everyday Americans have commenced and economic relief for businesses both large and small are being implemented.
To our clients and prospective clients: the McKeon Group will help them to be a part of this recovery in any way we can. We will bounce back and we will get back to the amazing economy that we were experiencing before this tragedy struck.
Our resilience and resolve as Americans are resolute.
I hope that all of you that are reading this will be continued to be blessed with good health. We will survive this, the economy will survive this, and we will be able to move forward and enjoy what we had before this thing hit us and I want you to know that we, the McKeon Group, are here to help in any way we can.
Remember to stay at home as long as your told to do so, wash your hands, don’t touch your face and follow the expert’s guidelines.
You can find more information on COVID-19 in the link below.
All the best,
Howard P. "Buck" McKeon
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China.
