Battling the silent epidemic, California takes on loneliness as a health emergency

After the coronavirus pandemic and extended lockdowns, topics such as depression, growing unemployment, and loneliness have become more important in social discourse. San Mateo County in California is trying to deal with the latter, having recently declared it a public health emergency.

On January 30, San Mateo County in California became the first state in the country's history to officially recognize loneliness as a health emergency. As David Canepa, one of the county's supervisors, stated on X, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of this decision.

"It leads to poor health outcomes, according to the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, such as heart attack, depression, and even early death. I’m calling for the state of California to establish a Minister of Loneliness position to help those suffering in silence to restore meaningful connections that were lost during the pandemic", he added.

Aforementioned the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy also reffered to this broundbreaking decision on his X profile, by underlining his gratefulness to San Mateo County.

"When I released my Surgeon General’s Advisory on loneliness, I outlined what localities can do to promote connection. Grateful to San Mateo County for becoming the first county in America to recognize loneliness as a public health emergency" - he wrote.

Sources: Fox News