Director Govin Newsom of the California Department of Public Health dismissed on Sunday, an abrupt departure of a key adviser in the fight against the coronavirus state, just days after the discovery of a computer system failure, which resulted in ‘ the undercounting of COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Sonia Angell, who held the position for less than a year, announced her resignation in an email sent to department staff released by the California Agency for Health and Human Services.
“Since January, when we received word of repatriation flights arriving from Wuhan, China, our department has been front and center in what has become an entire government’s response of unusual proportions to COVID-19,” Angell wrote in the email to members of public health staff. “In the final calculation, all our work, in total, makes the difference.”
Angell’s decision to resign comes at a crucial moment in California’s fight against the spread of the virus. More than 10,000 Californians have died from the disease and 38 of the state’s 58 counties are on a follow-up list calling for the closure of businesses that will close in early summer and K-12 schools had resumed when the academic year began. Angell, who frequently appeared alongside Newsom in his public briefings on the state’s efforts to combat the pandemic, was considered a key player in coordinating with local health departments throughout the state.
“I want to thank Dr. Angell for her service to the state and her work in helping support our public health system during this global pandemic, while never losing sight of the importance of health equity,” the governor said in a written statement Sunday night. .
Last week, state officials confirmed that as many as 300,000 records were not processed by the system that computer clearinghouse relied on to provide local officials with the COVID-19 test results reported by labs on a daily basis. Two separate errors were identified – one related to an interruption of a computer’s server, the other to the expiration of an electronic certificate for data transmitted by Quest Laboratories.
Administration officials insisted they did not know the extent of the problem until after Newsom’s public event on August 3, in which he expressed optimism that current case numbers – lower than some had expected – meant some progress in the pursuit of the state. But some local officials were sent communications earlier this week from the state Department of Public Health acknowledging a problem with the CalREDIE computer system.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, the secretary of the California Department of Health and Human Services, said Friday that a full investigation is underway to determine what happened. And although he said he had become aware of the ‘extent’ of the problem only after Newsom’s public statements, some officials had earlier information about the problem.
“We are aware that individuals were aware of some of these challenges,” Ghaly said when discussing both the Department of Public Health and his agency, which oversees these operations.
A spokeswoman for the state health agency would not comment Sunday on whether Angell’s sudden dismissal was related to, or appointed by, the database’s errors.
“I am grateful to Dr. Angell for her service to the people of California during this extraordinary public health crisis,” Ghaly said in a written statement Sunday night. ‘She has worked insecurely for all Californians, and always kept health values in mind. Their leadership was instrumental because Californians once flattened the curve and by putting us on a path to do it again. ”
Angell served both as Director of the State Department of Public Health and as Officer of the State Public Health. Those duties will now be split between two women, officials said. Sandra Shewry, a vice president at the nonprofit California Health Care Foundation who oversees the state’s Medi-Cal program under then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, will serve as acting director of the Department of Public Health. Dr. Erica Pan, recently brought into the Newsom administration after serving as a public health officer in Alameda County, will take over as acting public health officer.
Newsom is expected to deliver an update on the state’s coronavirus efforts on Monday afternoon.
