Expecting to See an Increase in Cases, Child Care, Testing Staff at Skilled Nursing Facilities, and More from Dr. Frankovich

Humboldt County’s Public Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich have been answering questions since the stay-at-home orders were instituted on a two question per media outlet on a roughly three times per week basis. The Department of Health and Human Services or office takes the questions, and reads them on camera for her response. The resulting video, called a Media Availability, is then provided to news outlets at the end of the day.

Here are some of the main points covered in the June 8th Media Availability session with a summary of answers from Dr. Frankovich, followed by questions we would have liked to ask in response if appropriate. Please note that this is not an exact transcription but a very close facsimile.

Before taking questions submitted by local media, Dr. Frankvich was prompted to address the surveillance testing that the Public Health Department is doing at local skilled nursing facilities.  

Dr. Frankovich: 

Sure, so again, our skilled nursing facilities or congregate living facilities like assisted living, have some of our most vulnerable residents. Skilled nursing facilities actually have a directive from the state about surveillance testing, and we’ve been working with them on accomplishing that. So we’ve just completed another round of surveillance testing for staff, and all ran those this weekend, and everything was negative, which is great. We are also working with the many assisted-living facilities to try and help them access ongoing surveillance testing as well, for their staff, and plan for that as just an additional safety measure going forward. 

1 min 10 secs in:

Media Question:  On Friday, you mentioned there are still concerns about the possible impacts of the recent protest gatherings.  If the case count increases, will businesses that have been certified to reopen (like salons), be asked to close down again for safety?  Can you also mention if stylists need to wear gloves?

Answer by Dr. Frankovich: 

Yes, of course we are monitoring for case counts, and we do that on going.  If the case count increases, I don’t expect us to be closing anything right now.  I think basically what we would be looking for is our ongoing indicators to suggest that we are heading down a path of too many cases.  So simply seeing an increase over baseline is not enough for us to close anything frankly. 

We expect to see an increase in cases as we move forward, what we are looking for is kind of the rate of increase and trends over a short period of time, our hospital capacity and our contact tracing abilities all of those things will inform whether we need to take a pause in opening additional new things, which would be our first strategy and then also whether there is actually ever in need to step back, and close things that we’ve already opened.  So I don’t see that related to this at present.

In terms of gloves, the guidance provided by the state -and anyone can pull up the guidance online, if they want to take a look at the business they are visiting is using as a template- the gloves are in the guidance are referred to as a possible way, using disposable gloves to be able to address issues of frequent handwashing and things like that so adding on those disposable gloves can help to sort of extend that and decrease the need for as frequent, but it really can’t replace handwashing as a strategy for this.

So there is no requirement to use gloves except, if you’re doing some of the things that salons normally wear gloves for, for instance for coloring in that type of thing and those gloves would be used.

3 mins 15 sec in:  

Media Question: On Friday, you mentioned that campgrounds, hotels and gyms are next to reopen in Humboldt.  When do you anticipate nail salons will be allowed to reopen?  Please explain the reopening criteria difference between nail and hair salons. 

Answer by Dr. Frankovich: 

Sure, so first of all, the Governor released a whole bunch of things on Friday, and the questioner is correct- campgrounds, hotels, gyms, day camps, childcare, bars, wineries, all kinds of things are on that list.  So what we are doing as we are taking those guidances, we are reviewing all of those from the state, some of them we may actually need a little bit of additional information for our local area, and then we’re basically putting those in order trying to again, emphasize lower to higher risk as we move forward.  And then we’ll plan those time frames accordingly. 

So, in terms of nail salons I know that the thought process in this from the states and going forward, and the reason it was initially further down the listing openings is that there isn’t any way to completely social distance throughout the interaction.  It tends at many times on being a longer interaction, than for instance most people’s haircuts.  However, I do think that nail salons can open. 

The problem we have right now is we are just awaiting state guidance for it.  As soon as the state provides that guidance document, so, for what is needed to do that safely, and again that guidance is produced by Cal OSHA with input from the state health department as well as industry.  When that is available will be more than happy to review plans and get those open as well.  I don’t anticipate a delay in that, we just don’t have it in hand.

5 mins in: 

Dr Frankovich clarifies the state guidance further: 

You know, the state initially provided guidance on child care.  In many respects, I actually liked that initial guidance better because I think it was a little bit more specific.  And we actually have had some day camps that we have been able to approve because they operated under that child care guidance.  And so, going forward again, we will be sort of taking the state guidance and probably amending it a little bit because I think there were some really good points in that initial guidance that came out. 

So I know it’s a little bit confusing and the entities that are already operating under the guidance, you know that’s fine, but for newer entities that will be coming on board, we just want to make sure that the guidance looks appropriate for our area.  

6mins in: 

Media Question:  Many services such as hair salons and hotels for tourism are scheduled to reopen this week, can you share an overview? 

Answer by Dr. Frankovich: 

So, I think we walked through that a bit, but again I just want to point out that the earliest any of the things that the governor put on the list–the earliest that those could open would be June 12.  Which is Friday, right?  So, we have hair salons are already approved to be open.  My hope is that we will have campgrounds ready this week. 

In terms of having the guidance up online and having people be able to submit their plans, hotels are an entity that will follow.  So I don’t have a precise opening date for that yet, for recreational travel. Obviously some hotels are operating right now for essential travel. 

6 mins 45 sec in: 

Media Question:  What businesses and services will remain closed? 

Answer by Dr. Frankovich: 

So, the things that have been historically more… further out, I guess, in Stage 3, included things that are really ‘mass gatherings’.  And so that’s really the big… you know, concert venues sporting events with spectators, those kinds of things are meant to be farther down.  And again, I know sometimes I think it seems a bit, you know, inconsistent- the guidances.  Some of the things that are coming out that involve large groups of people coming into those same space, and so we look at that, and we go, ‘well why can’t these other mass gatherings occur right now’, but I think it’s important to remember that the guidance that’s out right now for instance, things like restaurants includes a lot of social distancing. 

The intent of it is that people going out with family members- we’re not encouraging people to come into large spaces and interact with everyone in the space- which happens when we were together in, for instance, bars, or we’re together in concert venues and things like that where we definitely have less of an ability to social distance. 

And so those things are meant to come a bit later, whereas these things that are more carefully structured for social distancing and such are able to happen in a little bit sooner.