On February 20, less than a month after California reported its first case of COVID-19, an individual tested positive for the virus in Humboldt County. The positive case was the ninth in the state and the first for any rural county in the country. Since then, county staff and other local agencies have come together to protect and serve the people of Humboldt in ways that have served as a model for other counties in the region and the state.
The county is responsible for the costs of responding to COVID-19 in unincorporated areas and cities. Those expenses exceed $ 4.3 million, which includes the costs of more than 200 employees assigned to Public Health and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Dr. Teresa Frankovich, Humboldt County Health Officer, said: “The Sheriff and I, as well as the Director of Public Health, Michele Stephens, have led this response and asked staff to do the job and do it quickly. . They have risen to the plate and have worked tirelessly to make that happen. I remain impressed and deeply appreciative of your dedication to this effort and to your community and your massive accomplishments to date. “
As a result of these efforts, Humboldt’s case growth rate has remained well below state and national averages, and certain sectors of the economy have been authorized to reopen where they have not in other parts of the state. Humboldt was the first county in California to establish a state-administered testing site, and more than 13,000 tests have been administered. Joint Information Center (JIC) employees at the EOC have diverted more than 11,000 non-emergency calls from 9-1-1 and other dispatch systems to protect emergency response infrastructure while providing timely information to a public concerned and to help them navigate the changing rules and regulations related to the virus.
“This is a pandemic with a new virus. We are literally learning about this virus at the same time that we are generating a response to it, ”said Dr. Frankovich. “In Humboldt County, this virus came to our door in February. We are a small county with a small health department and laboratory, but we put together all the resources we could muster to build the necessary infrastructure to protect the lives of our friends and neighbors. ”
“Because of how fast and massive things have developed in Wuhan China, we had no idea as a county, state or country, how fast it would spread here and what it would be like in a country with our resources. We build infrastructure as if the lives of our families and friends depended on it, because we believe it does, ”said Dr. Frankovich.
The COVID-19 emergency has required personnel with specialized skills and extensive experience to work an extraordinary number of hours to defend an alternative care site, bring critical evidence resources to the county, and train disaster service workers in tracking contacts. JIC has helped keep the community informed about the constantly changing situation and has helped thousands of businesses, houses of worship and daycare to reopen in ways that minimize risk to both employees and customers. More than 900 companies and more than 3,700 workers have received direct support, with more than $ 159.8 million in low-interest loans and locally leveraged financial resources. Additionally, more than 115 homeless residents have been accommodated at three local hotels for nearly 5,000 nights.
Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said Stage One was a critical time for personnel assigned to this emergency response. “The Shelter-In-Place was instituted to give county leaders and hospitals time to prepare for the impacts of COVID-19 in our community,” said Sheriff Honsal. “The staff worked long hours to serve our community, and when I look at the costs of this emergency, I see the hard work that each member of this response has brought to the people of Humboldt County.”
Despite these positive developments, the virus has claimed four lives in Humboldt County, and the personal, emotional, and social cost it has had on individuals and families is incalculable. Social media has fractured, affecting the mental health of children, young adults, parents, and the elderly in ways that are likely to have an impact in the future. The local response to the global pandemic has had significant costs for both the public and private sectors.
From March 20 to June 23, approximately 800 of the more than 7,000 Humboldt County businesses reported more than $ 44 million in lost revenue. Almost 2,400 jobs have been permanently lost and are not expected to return. Humboldt County costs alone related to pandemic response are approximately $ 4,357,000 from February through the end of June, with county staff working over 70,000 hours, not including substantial and continued support from partner agencies. These numbers represent only the costs of the Emergency Operations Center staff who were assigned to support this community response from different county and municipal agencies, and often worked 12 or more hours a day, 6 days a week to meet the community needs.
In order to preserve local funds for specific local needs, county staff has maximized the use of state and federal funding sources whenever possible. The EOC Finance Section has successfully applied for additional grant funds that are available to support response efforts. To date, more than $ 1.8 million has been received and applied primarily to purchase additional equipment for the Public Health Laboratory to increase the testing capacity of COVID-19 and support communicable disease control efforts. The State of California has also allocated more than $ 13 million to Humboldt County through the federal CARES Act to offset the costs of the response.
The county has also utilized resources obtained through prior funds from the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program. For example, staff have successfully stored and preserved state emergency equipment caches for more than 10 years since the H1N1 outbreak, which have been distributed to healthcare facilities, first aid personnel and the alternative care site for this incident. The county also took advantage of all available state resources to minimize local costs. And despite the unique nature of this emergency, members of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and other volunteers have been active the entire time.
“I am grateful that our community partners have come together during this emergency and have lent the county their resources and expertise to provide professional, knowledgeable, and qualified individuals to help serve in the COVID-19 response,” said Sheriff Honsal. “Many times, these personnel not only had to work in the county’s emergency response, but were also responsible for completing their regular duties at their core jobs.”
The EOC maintains detailed documentation of response activities performed by staff to account for expenses and ensure maximum reimbursement for the county and all agencies working on the COVID-19 response. The Finance Section has maintained records in accordance with the guidelines of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to report and eventually reimburse emergency costs.
Below are the preliminary costs being tracked for a possible refund:
All of this work carries substantial costs that are legitimately a matter of concern to both county leaders and Humboldt County residents. For the sake of transparency, see below a link to a document that shows all county personnel, including law enforcement personnel, who have worked on this incident, their normal positions, their EOC assignments, the number of their regular hours worked, their total regular wages, and the total number of overtime hours worked and paid. Wage and overtime costs for all classes of employees, including Administration and Confidential, are based on long-standing negotiated agreements with county labor groups.
As the response to the global pandemic of COVID-19 continues, EOC and Public Health staff remain committed to the health and safety of Humboldt County residents.
Visit https://humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/87874/JUL17-EOC-COVID-Costs to download the document.
