- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Lake County officials, health experts discuss novel coronavirus situation
The California Department of Public Health said that, as of Monday, there are 43 people in the state who have tested positive for COVID-19 – the disease caused by the novel coronavirus – with 24 of those related to federal repatriation flights.
So far, there have been no cases of COVID-19 or even tests done for it in Lake County, Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said at the Kelseyville town hall.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital Chief Medical Executive Dr. Diane Pege, a town hall panelist, said COVID-19 is relatively easy to kill and that basic precautions such as handwashing and keeping surfaces cleaned with the appropriate products can keep people safe.
“What we're learning about the virus changes from day to day,” Pege said.
Based on the latest information, Pege said it’s believed that if a person is exposed to the novel coronavirus, they would become symptomatic between two and 14 days. If they go 14 days without symptoms, they may not get it at all.
The town hall in Kelseyville followed by several hours a briefing at the White House in which Vice President Mike Pence and federal health officials who are part of the coronavirus task force gave the latest update on the spread of COVID-19.
Vice President Pence said in the afternoon briefing that there are 43 domestic cases plus another 48 cases of people returning to the United States from areas where they contracted the virus.
Pence also announced that four more deaths from the virus had occurred on Monday in the United States, bringing the total to six deaths nationwide.
In addition to meeting with the nation’s governors, the vice president reported that the administration had met earlier in the day with pharmaceutical companies that have formed a consortium to share information in the development of therapeutics and vaccines.
Pence said vaccines could be going to clinical trials within six weeks but are unlikely to be available until late this year or early next year. Therapeutics could be ready this summer or early fall.
Federal Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said of the 43 domestic cases, 17 were travel-related, with the remaining 26 the result of person-to-person contact.
Even so, Pence and Azar said the immediate risk to Americans remains low.
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn said that due to a policy change, the capacity for testing for the virus is rapidly increasing.
He said this weekend, the capacity for state public health labs was between 75,000 and 100,000 tests, but changes in policy regarding development are allowing multiple companies and academic centers to move quickly in expanding the ability to test.
As a result, by the end of this week, close to a million tests will be able to be performed, Hahn said.
Local leaders offer questions, guidance
The Monday evening town hall was organized and moderated by Lily Woll, an educator who also is running for District 5 supervisor. She told Lake County News she organized the event in response to concerns community members had expressed to her.
For the town hall, she assembled a panel including Dr. Pace and Dr. Pege, Sheriff Brian Martin, Rob Young of the Lake County Office of Education, Sutter Lakeside Chief Nursing Executive Teresa Campbell, Sutter Lakeside infection preventionist Tammy Carter and Capt. Jim Dowdy of the Kelseyville Fire Department.
About two dozen people were in attendance at the event, held at Grace Church in Kelseyville, with many others watching a live stream of the event provided by the county of Lake and submitting questions online which the panel addressed at the end of the meeting.
Pace said very little testing for COVID-19 has been done in the United States due to the limited number of tests and the Center for Disease Control's specific protocols for the people they will test. As a result, health officials are not sure how widespread the infection is.
Strategies federal and state officials have been taking including limiting travel to countries with high risk and quarantining or isolating those who have been exposed, which he said is a containment strategy.
“This is a longstanding public health strategy that's worked some in the past,” he said.
However, once the virus it’s past containment, the strategy shifts to mitigation and the attempt to limit its spread, Pace said.
“Right now, the risk in Lake County is very low,” said Pace.
Neighboring counties have started to declare health emergencies. “We're not at that point in this county yet but it's something that may emerge in the coming weeks as we see how things go,” Pace said.
Sheriff Martin said the sheriff’s office has reached out to neighboring agencies to see what they are planning as part of putting together a Lake County protocol.
He said his agency is working to keep its personnel healthy so they can serve the community. “The government's not going to close down.”
Martin said the biggest challenge on the local level might be if people are quarantined. He said the Public Health officer has some police powers and can order quarantine, which is a misdemeanor to violate. In that case, the sheriff’s office would be the enforcement arm.
Young, the Lake County Office of Education’s emergency preparedness coordinator, said he acts as a liaison between the county of Lake and local school districts.
He said they’ve faced similar situations before, such as in 2009 with the H1N1 flu. At that time, schools were forced to develop a pandemic protocol which depends on universal precautions including cleaning, keeping people who are ill at home for 24 hours and following advice of Public Health.
Young said the Office of Education is in constant contact with Lake County Public Health, especially if its ongoing attendance data monitoring detects notable changes.
If there is an outbreak in Lake County, Young said schools are prepared to offer students independent study or makeup work as appropriate. He said school closures would only be considered after consultation with Public Health.
Understanding the novel coronavirus
Dr. Pege said most common colds are from the coronavirus family. Coronavirus has little projections that make it look like a crown, thus its name.
What’s different about COVID-19, Pege explained, is that it’s very light, and when people cough or sneeze it tends to hover and stay in the air.
However, “It's very easy to kill once it gets on a surface,” Pege said, noting that just about any product that will kill viruses will kill the novel coronavirus and that there are estimated to be 139 products on the market that will destroy it.
She said thorough hand washing – using soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds or using hand sanitizer, working it down into the webs of the fingers – is key, as is keeping away from people who are sneezing.
Whereas the common cold and flu usually start with aches, pains and feeling bad generally, Pege said COVID-19 starts with a cough, sometimes shortness of breath and then fever.
“It has a very specific presentation,” she said.
If people are sick and need care, Pege said they should call their health care provider or the hospital so they can make plans to receive and care for them.
Campbell said that Sutter Lakeside gets support through the Sutter Health Emergency Management System.
She said she is getting 20 to 30 emails a day from various agencies with all the latest information. “It's amazing.”
Campbell added, “We worked really closely with all the agencies at this table,” explaining that she is grateful for partnerships and collaboration, which she said makes the county safer.
Carter urged people to use proper “cough etiquette.” That means not coughing into their hands but into their elbow or a tissue, then immediately washing hands. Those with symptoms of illness should stay home.
Campbell added, “You don't get the coronavirus without an exposure opportunity, and that's why we say the risk in this county is relatively low.”
Capt. Jim Dowdy of Kelseyville Fire told the group, “We've been dealing with these kinds of things for years.”
He said it seems like there is a new virus every two years and treatment and policies tend to be very similar.
Dowdy said their crews are trained to handle such illnesses and they follow thorough protocols for cleaning equipment. “We're very diligent about keeping our equipment clean.”
He added, “We're all very prepared for this.”
Pege said that because novel coronavirus is new, most people don’t have antibodies to fight it. Once a person starts to develop symptoms, they have probably been shedding the virus for a few days.
With the opportunities for testing now ramping up, Pace said he expects regional labs to have testing capability over the next week.
“This is quickly changing. It's been a problem,” said Pace, adding that the dearth of testing is why health officials don’t yet have an understanding of how widespread COVID-19 is now, but he said that understanding may be completely different in two weeks.
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