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Dr. Humboldt County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich goes maskless in today’s video of media availability. She explains up-front that people complain that they cannot understand them. “[W]they want to make the information accessible to everyone, ”she explains, adding that her interviewers are distant and masked.
Here is the Q-and-A:
(0:52) The Times-Standard asks: “When will Humboldt County project the next peak in cases that occur? With nearly 50 new cases in the first four reporting days of this month, how close is the province to raising the risk level to four?
The new case counts and the positive rate is definitely increasing, says Frankovich. However, we have not yet reached the threshold for level four. The factors include a constellation of measures, including contact tracing and testing capacity, epidemiological data and the state of our health care system.
“I do not know,” she says. “I hope we can avoid this.”
(1:57) The Times-Standard asks: “With more than 40 percent of the cases in Humboldt County affects those who are younger than 29 years of age, how it is considered safe to allow schools to meet in person? iIt strikes many as so strange that boarding school boards via Zoom come together over security issues, but are okay with sending hundreds of students back to personal lessons. ”
School board meetings work well through Zoom, but most children do better in a school setting with on-site instruction, Frankovich says. There is no completely safe option, so it is a matter of balancing risk and benefit within the community. There is more benefit to students who have personal instruction than there is to other types of social gatherings, she says.
(3:33) Redwood News asks: ‘When I look at the county dashboard this morning, there are currently 32 cases under investigation. This number has seen more growth this week than other transmission types. Can you talk about why such a large number is being investigated? What problems as roadblocks do you see during your contact survey [that] makes it more difficult to determine the form of transfer? ”
Sometimes it takes a little work to determine how a new business fits in with a previous one, especially when there are a lot of new things, Frankovich explains.
(4:36) Redwood News asks: “You talked about the recent cases of Hoopa and how they were recorded in our provincial records, but not necessarily the same day that Hoopa received the results. You will receive copies of the results then can you talk about what this review process looks like? How much delay is there between the day Hoopa gets the positive test result and the day it is counted and added? to Humboldt County data?
The point-of-care test used in Hoopa has its limitations, Frankovich says. The province has often retested them at its own lab, which has higher-end equipment. That’s not always necessary, she adds, but it’s an important part of maintaining an accurate count.
(6:31) Redwood News asks: “Can you confirm that Humboldt County has not received any additional funding to rent? contact tracers? If so, how do you staff that team? How has it grown since the beginning of the pandemic? Do you need more people? Is this hindering contact tracing investigations?
It is an ongoing work-in-progress, says Frankovich. “We are constantly making our teams fashionable.” Funding has been provided in the province to support pandemic response, she adds, and the province is hiring staff and volunteers where needed.
The province can start recruiting new contacts “because we clearly see that some of these cases are complicated in that there are multiple contacts and we really need to have a lot of boots on the ground doing the work,” he says. se.
(8:51) The North Coast News asks, “The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has approved an ordinance that allows the issuance of citations for companies that do not comply with health orders related to coronavirus citations will range from $ 100s for a people and up to $ 10,000 for businesses that do not follow local and state health commissions.Is this something that could happen in Humboldt? Who can make that decision and who would get the commission?
The province’s response has focused on education rather than enforcement, Frankovich says. “We feel that companies are suffering a lot from this pandemic and they are important to the families who live and work in this community,” she added, saying most people want them to comply. “And that’s useful.”
Still, officials have been working on a codified response that proceeds from warnings via citations.
(10:29) The North Coast News asks, “There’s a lot of talk about mass voting by mail. Do you think main voting is the safer option instead of collecting at polling stations?
If polls are built in a safe way – one that allows for masking and social distance – that could be an option, Frankovich says after encouraging everyone to vote. If this is not possible, then mail-in is the safer option.
(11:30) The North Coast News asks, “What do you think about Oregon’s ability to close the border and restrict travel from California and Oregon to restrict distribution?
Earning as an island isolator is “an enticing idea,” Frankovich says. “Practically speaking, I do not see it happening – for several reasons,” she adds. But we can encourage local residents and outsiders not to travel.
