A year ago, as the coronavirus epidemic spread in California, health officials in the two areas discussed what would be the first in a series of unprecedented decisions to shut down public life for the region’s nearly .5.5 million people: what – and to what extent – they collectively. Gatherings should be stopped.
As the need to limit infection became clear, officials discussed the number. Some local counties banned gatherings of more than 100 people, while others were advising not to meet in groups of more than 35 going forward. San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow was asked about the science behind these decisions.
“Does the numbers 100 and 35 have any basis?” He asked in a slack chat handled by the Association Bay F Bay Area Health Officers, a group that includes 12 local counties and Berkeley City Health Officers.
San Benito County Health Dr. Fischer Dr. “There is no basis for what I can see,” said Marty Fenstershib. “The numbers are random.”
“The issue there shouldn’t be a gathering at this point, but obviously the numbers need to be in order,” Moro noted.
It was one of many such discussions revealed in the Slack gossip among health officials, which the Two Area News Group has received through a public record request and is publishing here for the first time. Despite an incomplete record of public health discussions – officials also honored other channels, including email and phone calls – the chat is the most centralized record of consultations with regional health officials about the COVID-19 response, as it is wreaking havoc in California.
These chats, which run from January 31 to June 2, provide a window into the vague, decisive decision-making process behind some of the historic public health policies of our lifetimes. Conversations from the early months have been confusing, with initially focusing on foreign travelers, from China and then Europe, and questions about how local health departments expect federal government quarantine orders for high-risk travelers. At Francisco International Airport and Travis Air Force Base.
The urgency of the public health response increased during February and March, as health officials realized the virus was already widespread in the community and the extent of transmission was unknown due to a lack of testing. The post-crisis crisis illustrates how long and widespread the epidemic will be, with slack chats being shown by health officials in daily decisions about how to shift the response to mitigation, rather than control, despite having very little or conflicting information about the virus. .
In these chats, officials also point out that disease control and prevention centers, the state, their own local governments, and officials fighting to enforce conflicting guidelines for each other.
In early February, the CDC mandated a 14-day quarantine for returning passengers from parts of China, and disappointed some local officials who expressed concern that such measures were premature and intrusive. Officers also struggled to understand their extraordinary legal authority, which fueled disagreements about the respective powers of the federal and local quarantine orders.
“I’ve spent many hours on high-level CDC calls in the last 2 days,” Morrow said February 2. As I have said over and over again, I do not have the capacity to make the quarantine plan work. Nothing to change that. ”
Erica Pan, who was Alameda County’s public health officer at the time, wondered if local governments would refuse or impose quarantine orders on potentially infected people if they refused or were unable to do so.
Early messages also show that, initially, officials compiling the responses were still optimistic about their ability to prevent the virus from spreading in the U.S.
“Maybe this will be like H1N1, or a little worse or better?” Said Pan, who is now a state epidemiologist.
“One way to describe it could be somewhere between a bad flu and a really bad flu,” Contra Costa County Health Officer Chris Fernitono replied.
That optimism was shattered as health officials realized the infection was emerging in California without any immediate link to foreign tourists. At a suggestion that California would soon look like Italy – where the health care system was overwhelmed with sick and dying COVID patients – Page posted that “Seattle is not looking this bad yet.”
Every day, the group faced new high-stakes challenges. In early March, health officials were discussing how to word public emergency declarations, arguing over how to increase the capacity of the hospital and intensive care unit, and what to do with Grand Princess cruise ship passengers about landing at Auckland Harbor. He was trying to determine. .
The harsh and often disrespectful decision by officials gained momentum that month as schools in the Gulf region were closed and President Donald Trump ordered a 30-day travel ban for parts of Europe.
By March 17, six of the two area counties, including Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Matteo, and the Marines, had given what was then the most successful asylum-place-order in American history.
In the days leading up to the regional stay-at-home order, Governor Gavin News issued a statewide order.
“The immediate question,” Fernitono wrote on March 20. “Does the governor’s shelter on the spot disrupt the health orders for health there?” Thirty-five minutes later, he reported to his colleagues the response of the executive director of the California Statewide Health Officers Association: “We are here in the unrestricted territory.”
In the weeks following the shelter order, the channel’s participants discussed the government’s unprecedented sanctions, which, for most Americans, would have been unbearably aggressive before the epidemic: could landscapers and pool cleaners make money on their businesses? Can a multi-million dollar construction project be continued? Was a medical marijuana clinic, a golf course and a gun shop “essential”?
“With the SIP’s mandate, there are now heartbreaking questions for most of us,” Marine County Health Officer Matt Willis wrote on March 19. Have you gained weight on the playground? Exempted? ”
At another point, Page asked if others had received inquiries about outdoor crossfit classes: “I can’t believe all the random questions we’re all making!” She said.
On March 22, Marine County ordered the closure of all its parks – about 18,000 acres – amidst the crowds. That week, Willis acknowledged that the closure of access to the beach had raised equity questions for many poor residents to re-equate, but he decided that access to public parks would be limited after large crowds suddenly gathered on Highway 1. In many parts of the month.
Slack messages also highlighted the limitations of health officials. Health officials frequently complained that they lacked supplies or information to formulate appropriate answers. Some also lamented the lack of a unified response by various government agencies. In addition, the thousands of chats contain no discussion of the disproportionate impact of the epidemic on Latinos and other communities of color.
Health officials said those discussions took place outside the channel.
Government officials who posted to the chat channel were concerned about how much information the public and news media would publish. In early April, Page wrote that she was resisting the mayor of Alameda County who was “pressuring” her to publish city-level data on the infection and urging her colleagues leading other counties to hold the line against the ad. Many counties told Pan that they have already released their infection data. Contra Costa’s website has crashed with all the traffic. Pan appeared frustrated that other health officials shared information with the public without consulting the group.
“Next time though, please let us know in the region if you’re going to share more detailed data… or something else that won’t be in the past,” Page said.
California county governments refused to disclose the details of the outbreak, which would eventually be the subject of several lawsuits, including a civil suit filed by the news organization, in which a judge ruled that Almeida County officials illegally withheld public records.
In mid-April, Sonoma County issued the region’s first county mask mandate. The group discussed how to guide people about facial inks.
“Probably all workers should be involved who talk to the public, including home care workers who go to homes with customers and people,” Fernitono posted. In mid-April, most of the two area counties issued the mask order and by mid-June, News had claimed it.
Meanwhile, the rate of infection and death continued to rise as counties continued to search for safety devices and science to support their decisions. More than 300 new infections were reported in California that day, Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Noemi “Mimi” Doha posted her concern that her rural and disproportionately old county would be overwhelmed by infection and death.
“In Mendo we are considering commanding a nursing home for the last Covid-19 of life, where a family member can come with their loved ones,” Dohan said. Dohan didn’t know it at the time, but eventually County Corinthians will buy a facility that can’t isolate people infected with seaweed in their home. “I don’t even believe I’m writing this, but we only have 40 [ventilators] For a population of 90,000 and only 100 beds, I can’t avoid it. “
The Bay Area News Group has stored excerpts from these records in a digital archive, containing speeches for readers to explore in the document cloud. Transcripts are low resolution, zoom in to read them larger.
What is the Abaho Slack Group?
The Association of Bay Area Health Officers, or ABAHO, consists of local health officials from 13 jurisdictions in Northern California, including 12 counties and the city of Berkeley. Established in 1985 to better coordinate the local response to the HIV / AIDS epidemic, the close alliance is seen as a model for regional collaboration on public health plans, including epidemic preparedness. Below are the ABABI along with the handles they use in the Slack channels from January to May 2020. The names of the health officers are given below. *
- Dr. Scott Morrow, San Mateo County Health Officer. Tomorrow
- Sara Cody, Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. ra sara.cody
- Dr. Crist Fernito, Contra Costa County Health Officer. chris.farnitano
- Matt Willis, Marine County Health Officer Dr. mwillis
- Erica Pan, Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Pan was appointed State Epidemiologist in July 2020 and served as Acting State Health Officer from August August 2020 to January 2021. Erica.pan
- San Francisco County Health Officer Dr. In January 2021, Aragan was appointed Officer of the California Department of Public Health and State Health. Tomas.aragon
- Dr. Gannell, Santa Cruz County Health Officer. gail.newel
- The health officer in San Benito County, Dr. Marty Fenstershib. Fenstershab resigned from the post in late April and now leads the Santa Clara County Testing Task Force. Mar Dr. Marter1
- Dr. Karen Rilusio, Public Health Officer of Napa County. @ Karen.Relucio and @Kirelussio
- Dr. Sundori Mase, Sonoma County Health Officer. sundari.mase
- Lisa Hernandez, City of Berkeley Health Officer Dr .. lbhernandz
Note: Solano County Health Officer Bella Mattis and Monterey County Health Officer Edward Moreno do not appear on the channel. Others that appear in Slack Channel records are identified in ot notations.
Leonardo Casteda contributed to this report.
