Today, like many days ago, Dr. Teresa Frankovich, Humboldt County Public Health Officer, answered questions from local reporters about the county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today’s questions were sent before Governor Newsom announced that he would order all bars, indoor restaurants, movie theaters, and a variety of other business categories to be closed across the state (and additional sectors to close in particular counties), so these questions don’t deal with that ad.
Instead, they talk about last weekend’s wedding series, COVID in the marijuana industry, the state’s inmate release program, and the very bad state of coronavirus testing in Humboldt County right now.
Video from above. Questions and summaries of Dr. Frankovich’s answers below.
###
1. With 26 new cases confirmed this month alone, how close is Humboldt County today to the threshold to be on the state watch list?
Dr. Frankovich says that there are some factors that are used to determine whether or not a county falls on that list: the number of cases per capita, the rate of people with positive results, the hospital capacity. Our hospital capacity is fine.
New cases and the testing rate have been increasing in Humboldt County lately, and that has been a cause for concern. But to be on the watch list, he said, a county must have confirmed 25 new cases per 100,000 residents for two weeks and a positive test rate of 8 percent during that time. We are still well below that benchmark, although recent trends are troubling.
2. With the opening of more and more places and people returning to work, can you talk a little bit about what employers should do when a case is reported at their workplace? Are they required to notify all employees or only those in direct contact? Is it necessary to close the whole place to clean it, etc.
Each case is a little different, says Dr. Frankovich. If an employee tests positive, she is talking with the employer and the employee to determine with which other employees the infected person may have been in close contact. After that, it can go in many different directions.
All companies are doing enhanced cleanup, just as a matter of staying open. If there is a confirmed case associated with the premises, that will probably be further improved. But they don’t necessarily come close to doing that.
3. With local COVID-19 cases on the rise, why is the JIC-managed call center reducing its hours? What message is the county sending to the community about how big a COVID-19 problem is when it reduces access to answered questions?
Dr. Frankovich says the county is trying to use its resources wisely. Right now, judging by the volume of calls, there isn’t as much need for extended hours. That could change in the future, and they could rise again.
“This is how the EOC is built: contract and expand as needed,” she says.
4. In recent months, the media have followed the development of the coronavirus, it seems that news updates have become redundant, how has Humboldt County pressed for advanced and diverse data on the effects of the virus on all minorities ?
Frankovich notes that the county has been putting race and ethnicity data on infection rates on the county’s coronavirus dashboard, and has been commenting on the disproportionate burden we are seeing in the Latino community, which is concerning.
More long-term data on outcomes, for example, is in the hands of care providers, rather than the Department of Public Health. Public Health investigates that data as it is being collected nationally, and again is very concerned about the disproportionate impact the pandemic is having on people of color.
5. Do you research these demographics?
Yes.
6. To address the disparity in COVID cases between our Latino and Hispanic communities, in order to make health and safety information readily available to those individuals, the JIC or DHHS made use of any staff member of Do you speak Spanish for the purpose of formatting information, or did you hire a translator to produce information in Spanish, and have you considered providing these translated Q&A videos for that community? Do you have any suggestions on how the media can help bring information to that community?
This has been a goal and a priority at the Joint Information Center, says Dr. Frankovich. Many of their materials, including frequently asked questions on the website, are produced and available in Spanish. The JIC always has a Spanish-speaking staff member available to answer questions. We have Spanish speakers on Public Health staff to interview people. They have produced some videos in Spanish.
However, it is always a challenge, and she appreciates the help of the media (or, apparently, almost anyone).
7. Has JIC / DHHS been successful in adding local staff to Othman Serve’s COVID-19 testing site in Redwood Acres, and for how long do you anticipate that resource will be available to Humboldt County residents?
OptumServe is contracted by the state to be at Redwood Acres until August 31. What happens after that is unclear, says Dr. Frankovich, and it is out of the county’s hands. However, the county has been “actively exploring” other options that will give us a sustainable facility with better response times.
8. At a free test site in South Humboldt, the response time for the COVID19 test results is 8 to 10 days. A community member reportedly had a full 14-day quarantine period before retrieving his test results.
That’s what they are hearing from OptumServe, says Dr. Frankovich, 8 to 10 days. “It is a great concern. It is of very little use to us, certainly in terms of our contact research, if we cannot get change faster than that. ”
It is a national rather than a local challenge, she says.
9. What is causing this delay and do asymptomatic people still need to be tested?
“We are still asking people to do that,” says Dr. Frankovich.
10. Can you share an estimate of how many positive cases of COVID-19 Have they been confirmed (residents and non-residents) that they are linked to the ‘cannabis community’?
A “substantial number” of cases are related to cannabis-related industries, says Dr. Frankovich, and there are also a number of secondary cases with contacts with those people. Not surprisingly, workplace-related cases are fairly common across the country.
She says they have been working to reach out to that community to assure them that Public Health is not concerned about the legality of a particular crop or cannabis-related business; they only seek to help those companies follow best practices and keep their workers safe.
11. You mentioned last week that Public Health and the Joint Information Center sent calls about planned meetings, can you confirm whether or not a wedding was held with hundreds of people this weekend in Petrolia? And if it did, what are some of the biggest public health concerns in the future? Do you think we’ll see a spike in cases because of that?
“These meetings are of great concern to us,” says Dr. Frankovich. Meetings are a great source of the increase in cases we’ve seen recently, and it’s not just us. This is happening across the state.
While expressing sympathy for things to normalize, Frankovich is adamant: “The gatherings of hundreds of people are clearly, far from state and local orders, and they are downright illegal.”
12. Also last week, you had expressed concern about several large weddings that were scheduled for the weekend. Were those weddings early? Could the county have any impact on your safety procedures? How can people celebrate a Humboldt County wedding these days, under current state and local restrictions?
Weddings are not an easy thing to do right now, says Dr. Frankovich. The ideal is not to have meetings with people outside your family unit. The second best option, although not technically allowed yet, is to have a very small number of people, socially estranged, who meet strictly outdoors.
13. Why is the right to protest at a large gathering allowed, but not large gatherings for weddings and funerals?
The protests are constitutionally protected. Dr. Frankovich says, while weddings and funerals are not. But there are exceptions made for funerals these days, under certain circumstances: 12 people, with social distancing.
14. What enforcement actions are available to the police if the weddings mentioned last week take place after being warned?
Dr. Frankovich deferred this question to the Sheriff.
15. Last week, Sheriff Honsal expressed concern over the release of inmates to Humboldt County from state jails without any quarantine procedures. Can you explain how Public Health is working with the county Probation Department to align temporary housing for these people? What is being done to ensure that they do not pose a risk of infection to the wider community?
It is difficult, says Dr. Frankovich, because the prison system is inventing this system on the go. But they have been very good about contacting Public Health for feedback.
As things stand, the county is notified if anyone is released in the community if they tested positive or if they come from a facility where there has been an outbreak. If people need isolation and / or quarantine, they have been working with the Probation Department to find housing, if necessary.
