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The county is still working out full-time as it seeks a replacement, Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich sat down once again today to answer media questions.
Below you will find a list of questions and a computer-generated transcript of the answers.
North Coast News asks, “Do you think school staff and or students should be regularly tested and who will be responsible for the costs?”
Well, people know that the CDPH was guided with their school document about recommending some surveillance testing. At the time they were recommending an investigation of about 50 [members] Of school staff every month, so 100 every two months.
This type of testing has become a bit controversial and I think the reason is, you can imagine, if the employee is tested once every two months, the obstacles that you have are going to catch him at the moment Can. Infections are less likely if you are either testing more frequently or are specific to symptoms or exposure.
All that being said, I think surveillance testing is worth something and we have the ability to do it and we can do it for free. So we’ve definitely made schools aware of that and we’ve helped bring testing to some places through our Opt Ptm site so that staff can be investigated.
There is no need to do this at this time. But I definitely believe that as we develop our own collection system and our own testing strategy locally, our capacity will increase and I hope schools will benefit from it, as I encourage everyone in our community to get Am. Tested on a regular basis so we have that information. And if we find someone positive, we can respond immediately.
North Coast News asks, “After contact tracing, which age group, from 0 to 9 or 10 to 19, appeared to show the highest rate of virus spread, and can you talk about the symptoms and recovery of each group?”
So, that’s an interesting question. I will just say that in most of our pediatric cases, the child is not the initial case. So most of the time there has been an adult contact that is positive and then the child came out and got infected and it is usually detected by case investigation.
Children, as we all know, are more likely to be asymptomatic or have much less symptoms than older individuals. And so if it weren’t for that case investigation we probably wouldn’t be able to identify some of these cases because the children don’t come to the necessary medical help. So we have no hospitalization for a person under 20 years of age.
KMUD asks, “Dr. Francovich, can you share an update on the test? “
Well, we continue to work with our North Coast Testing Partners on developing this regional testing strategy. Things are going really well. Again, what we are thinking is that even in Humboldt County and Del Norte we are confident that we are serving our tribal partners, both of which have to establish our own collection entities.
We are pulling that structure together at the same time that part of the lab is also being held together. We are receiving Perkin-Elmer equipment in a laboratory setting at UIHS. I think we are waiting for the last few pieces and putting all the other tools aligned together.
I’m sure people can imagine, it’s a very complex process – both that we have to put laboratory testing capacity, storage capacity and then also have an information system to support it. We must therefore have a platform where people are able to schedule their appointments, and where they are able to access their results, and in a timely manner and to be able to receive the other information they need.
So basically the team has been meeting frequently to keep all this together and we are still thinking of keeping this wicket order operational.
KMUD News asks, “What information can you share about the recent deaths in Humboldt County related to COVID-19?”
Well, I think we put out the information at the time that these were individuals over the age of 65 and this is the information we have to share at this time.
KMUD News asks, “Are you worried about a coronavirus outbreak in firefighters?”
Well, I am always concerned when we pull people together and in any place, and certainly when we gather firefighters from many different areas, both from other states as well as from within the state. So, yes, that’s worrying.
At the same time, I know that Califier and other organizations have worked very hard on protocols on how to do this as safely as possible, how both firefighters enter, how to manage if they get sick. Is and how can we speed up the test. To help with that scenario. So I think we are operating as safely as possible under the circumstances.
The Two Reverse Tribune asks, “With the scarcity of numbers and the county starting to understand the impact the virus has had on Humboldt County, what would you say our overall report will be grade?”
Well, I think we’re doing really well. That being said, we are in Orange Tire and it is comparable to many of our counties in California. We are doing very well from that point of view. People with red and purple tires are obviously more restricted on what they can do and they are dealing a lot more in terms of the number of outbreaks of cases. So I feel lucky in that.
At the same time, I want us to stay at a less restrictive level. I wish we were in yellow. I think it’s important to let people know … every Tuesday the state will release data on what level you’ll be at based on that week. And so for this reporting period really our numbers, which ended on September 12, are behind state data, which could put us at a case rate of 3.3 per 100,000, which would really put us in red tires. That metric.
To really get into red tires, you have to stay there for at least two weeks. Luckily for us, last week, our data for the 19th week, at least for now, looks better. Additional test results are added to the state’s reporting system over time, so we are never fully sure of the date of the report. But for now, it feels good.
So I don’t expect we’ll be in red tires anytime soon. But I think we all need to take note of that and take the right steps, which is this: if we want to improve where we live or, in the best case, we will accept all the steps we are talking about. So that we can really keep our business community vibrant and so that we can get kids into school.
The Reverse Tribune asks, “The numbers are slowly rising. What do you think is the biggest danger of transmission because people now know more than the beginning how to protect themselves and others. “
Well, I think we are learning as we go along and I think the evidence has really been gathered about the effect and effectiveness of the use of facial coverings. And I’m sorry that in the beginning we didn’t understand it well, and we didn’t accept it or encourage it.
And I think that’s a problem for people because I’m still hearing people say: Well, at the beginning everyone said – don’t use it. And I just want to point out that we are learning about this virus in real time. We’re seeing what happens, and in the best scientific way, we’re really trying things out, seeing what people achieve with different steps, and then implementing the things that make the most sense. . That’s what we do.
And I think what we’ve learned is that using facial inks is really useful. So seeing the number of people really accepted here has really encouraged me, and I think we can do better on that front, and I think it will help us. I think, travel and gatherings … it’s the driver of infection in the state, and I think we really need this, as much as this social part is challenging, we really need to try to get it together.
Because it really affects what has happened in our community. We talked about a huge gathering of about 50 people, and I think I mentioned it at the time, we reported that there are about 22 of our next cases related to that case. That number is now over 30. And so it only speaks to the point that you can’t predict in advance what gathering will take place is a super spreader type event. And so the safest thing is not to catch them.
And I would encourage people, if they are really going to get along with other people, again, it’s a small group. Again, maybe not 20 people but six people to talk to, and it’s on the outside, and those people are far apart and they don’t share food. So by pulling people together – in your backyard, a small group of people outside the house, is naturally safer than having people inside your house, it is possible to distribute food around the table where you spread the infection. If anyone present is sick and does not know.
