Eden Health District COVID-19 Bulletin
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"T
he challenge we have today is helping people understand . . . how to live with this virus.
”
Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, NPR,
6/17/20
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A day in the life of a nurse
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When Brandon Rice, a critical care nurse at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, goes to the hospital for his 8-hour shift, he does not where he'll care for Covid-19 patients or not. Either way the first thing he does is change into his hospital shoes. He said having hospital-only shoes has been a new practice that most of his co-workers now follow. He leaves his shoes at the hospital, but he said some colleagues have a specific box in their car for the shoes.
Rice consults with a team of doctors, pharmacists and other specialists to evaluate patients and their care needs. That process more or less repeats itself more during the day. He’s also constantly talking with patient’s families to give updates and facilitate communication.
Rice takes two 30-minute breaks each day, which he said is a very important time to really disconnect. That means not looking at his phone or reading the news.
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Instead, Rice will have a snack or take a quick walk outside or even watch part of a TV show on his phone. He said that disengagement is pivotal to be able to go back into work and provide high-quality care.
“The mental strength that is needed to do this, and do it day in and day out, is underrated,” Rice said. “Self-care is so necessary.” Source:
SFGate
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Alameda County:
4,553
Contra Costa County:
2,071
California:
163,541
U.S.:
2,173,256
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Alameda County:
116
Contra Costa County:
50
California:
5,282
U.S.:
117,972
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Castro Valley Forum, June 17, 2020
Mark Friedman, Eden Health District (EHD) CEO, informed the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Committee (MAC) that during the past few months, the district has been able to provide over 100,000 masks to frontline personnel, including firefighters, Meals on Wheels volunteers, and staff at the George Mark Children’s House. EHD has also given $250,000 to the COVID-19 testing site located at Cal State East Bay in Hayward to keep it running.
Registered Nurse and EHD Board Member Pam Russo gave the MAC some local COVID-19 statistics: There have been 4,216 cases in Alameda County to-date, with 134 in Castro Valley. Russo pointed out that the population of Castro Valley is fairly analogous to Dublin, but that city has just 30 positive residents, less than a quarter of the number of Castro Valley cases. Russo said that Castro Valley’s relatively high positive numbers may be in part because so many Castro Valley residents have been tested – they make up 8 to 10 percent of those showing up at the Cal State testing site. An outbreak at a local care home may have also contributed to the higher statistics
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Mercury News, June 17, 2020
Dozens of nurses at St. Rose Hospital who belong to the California Nurses Association on Wednesday staged a demonstration outside the Hayward hospital alleging that managers have failed to keep workers there safe. “We deserve this hospital’s support,” said Angelanne Fernandez, an intensive care nurse who has spent more than 13 years working at St. Rose. But in a counter demonstration just yards away at the hospital’s entrance, other nurses and health care workers said they think leadership has done a good job of protecting workers.
“We’re here to support our hospital,” said Catherine Garcia, a surgical technologist who has worked at the hospital for nearly two decades.
Oaklandside, June 17, 2020
In March, the city of Oakland passed an ordinance banning most evictions during the pandemic. Tenant advocates have called it one of the strongest eviction moratoriums in the state. But ever since the ordinance went into effect, there’s been widespread confusion about what the rules actually mean and who’s protected. To make matters more complicated, Alameda County has a separate but similar ordinance, and there are additional state rules dictating what cities can do. Oaklandside asked residents what questions they have about Oakland's eviction moratorium, then asked experts to provide answers.
Berkeleyside, June 17, 2020
After 46 years of serving up an array of books from university presses around the globe, and hosting thousands of author talks, book clubs and gatherings, University Press Books at 2430 Bancroft Way has shuttered for good. The store has been struggling for years to pay its $10,000 monthly rent and has seen its sales suffer with the rise of Amazon, but the COVID-19 virus was the final straw that led the store’s partners to shut it down.
Dan Borenstein, Opinion Editor, East Bay Times, June 18, 2020
"At the most basic level for prevention, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties still are not conducting enough tests each day, based on the state’s guidelines. It’s appalling that officials there are reopening without it. Testing is key to quickly spotting outbreaks and addressing them before they spread. State health officials note that the stated purpose of the March sheltering orders was to ensure that hospitals were not overwhelmed by an expected rapid rise in cases."
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LifeHacker, June 18, 2020
If someone you live with has been diagnosed with Covid-19, or seems very likely to have it (for example, if they are awaiting test results), you suddenly have an important job: Take care of the person, while reducing the risk that they’ll transmit the virus to you or to anyone else. Beth Skwarecki, senior health editor, outlines the things you should do as soon as you get the diagnosis:
- Figure out how thoroughly you can isolate the infected person
- Designate a point person
- Make sure the person still has social connections
- Gather your supplies
- Minimize the likelihood of transmission
- Help them track and monitor symptoms
- Cleaning products, including disinfectants and bleach, to clean surfaces
- Soap and hand sanitizer to keep hands clean
- A thermometer
- Fever reducers such as Tylenol, if desired
- Masks, if you don’t already have a bunch
There’s
some disagreement among medical professionals
about whether a pulse oximeter is a must-have. (This is a device that painlessly clips onto your finger and uses a light to measure the oxygen in your blood.) Many physicians recommend one, noting that some Covid-19 patients can have dangerously low oxygen saturation without feeling short of breath.
Associated Press, June 18, 2020
It’s best to call ahead to see how the place you’re considering is working to minimize the risk of Covid-19. The CDC
suggests
asking if the staff is wearing face coverings, for example, and whether cleaning practices have been stepped up. Once at a hotel, Dr. Albert Ko at the Yale School of Public Health says guests should continue to follow social distancing guidelines, since the virus spreads mainly from person-to-person contact. Dine outside if possible, he says, and don’t crowd into elevators.
NPR, June 17, 2020
NPR's Terry Gross interviews Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Osterholm noted, "About 5 to 7% of the U.S. population has been infected with this virus. That's it. . . .But this virus is not going to slow down transmission overall. It may come and go, but it will keep transmitting until we get at least 60 or 70% of the population infected and hopefully develop immunity, or if we get a vaccine, that can get us there too."
BuzzFeed News, June 17, 2020
A Florida woman and 15 of her friends have reportedly tested positive with the coronavirus after a night out at a bar in Jacksonville Beach. The woman, Erika Crisp,
told local news station News4Jax
that she and her friends have been “doing everything the right way,” being careful to socially distance and staying inside for months. The only common denominator between the group, she said, is one night out earlier this month without wearing masks.
Financial Times, June 17, 2020
The combination of working from home and the threat of layoffs in an economic downturn are potent conditions for paranoia. “Generally paranoia is about things which are not there or which have not happened, yet,” says André Spicer, professor of organizational behavior at Cass Business School. “That means when you are not around your co-workers and your organization due to virtual working, it can give space for paranoia to grow. We don’t have all the usual informal feedback to make sense of what is going on.”
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SF Chronicle, June 17, 2020
California reported a record number of new coronavirus cases Wednesday, eclipsing 4,000 new cases in a single day for the first time. County health departments reported 4,233 new cases as of Wednesday night with nearly all counties reporting. The state’s previous single-day high was 3,683 cases last Friday. The rise in new virus cases comes as many areas of the state ease social restrictions and reopen sectors of the economy.
LA Times, June 18, 2020
For months, anti-vaccine activists have joined protests against coronavirus restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of infection. Now this unusual alliance is taking direct aim at the county officials issuing these orders. Rallies outside the homes of public health officers are gaining traction. For many, it’s raising alarms. Calling the protests an act of intimidation, Kat DeBurgh of the Health Officers Association of California said she’s worried.
Sacramento Bee, June 17, 2020
Gov. Newsom’s administration is considering a statewide order to require the use of masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to officials in several counties in contact with the state.The discussions are occurring as many counties contemplate their own mask rules in response to spikes in coronavirus cases as businesses reopen.
Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, has been pushing for a statewide mask order, arguing it’s an issue that “shouldn’t be dependent on county choice.”
CapRadio, June 18, 2020
The idea of employers testing workers to get people on the job again is a very live discussion among employers right now, according to groups that represent them, such as the California Employers Association and the California Business Roundtable.
“By ... being proactive, and helping our community to say, ‘Are we safe?’ ‘Here’s more data ...’ Anything we can do to help the county to get the information they need so they can open up more, we’re all in,” says Michele Daugherty, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors Norcal.
Kaiser Health News, June 17, 2020
Six months after agreeing to a
$575 million settlement
in a closely watched antitrust case filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Sutter Health has yet to pay a single dollar, and no operational changes have gone into effect. The nonprofit health care giant was accused of using its market dominance in Northern California to illegally drive up prices. Late last week, lawyers for Sutter filed a motion requesting that San Francisco Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo delay approval of the settlement for an additional 90 days, due to “catastrophic” losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sutter argues the pandemic has upended the financial landscape for hospitals and made numerous aspects of the agreement untenable.
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The Atlantic, June 18, 2020
Several states in the South and West, including Texas, Florida, and Oregon, have seen a record number of coronavirus cases in recent weeks. But there’s a wide gap in how governors are reacting to the resurgence. Oregon Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat, and Utah Governor Gary Herbert, a Republican, have each paused their state’s phased reopening plans in response to the increases. But other Republican governors, Ducey in Arizona, Greg Abbott in Texas, and Ron DeSantis in Florida among them, have refused to reimpose economic restrictions or social-distancing mandates, in many cases frustrating local leaders, whose hands are tied.
NY Times, June 18, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic will shutter many small businesses. Early evidence shows it is disproportionately hurting black-owned small businesses. More than 40% of black business owners reported they weren’t working in April, when businesses were feeling the worst of the pandemic’s economic consequences. Only 17% of white small business owners said the same, according to
an analysis
of government data by Robert Fairlie of the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Bloomberg, June 17, 2020
In Arizona, where coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are rising to the alarm of experts, hospitals still face a critical limitation: staff. Arizona reported its highest number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients, 1,582 on Tuesday, a count that for the first time exceeds New York. While health-care facilities have stocked up on supplies and made plans to manage an influx of patients, a deficit of doctors and nurses can't be readily repaired. Steven Oscherwitz, an infectious-disease specialist in Arizona, said that when he visited Tucson Medical Center on Monday morning, there was just one ICU bed available. Patient demographics have also changed since he first started seeing virus patients. “Now the younger ones are coming, and it’s in the community more than just nursing homes,” he said.
NPR, June 18, 2020
A survey of state health departments shows that the national coronavirus contact tracing workforce has tripled in six weeks, from 11,142 to 37,110 workers. Yet given current case counts, only 7 states and tDC are staffed to the level public health researchers say is needed to contain outbreaks. Public health experts say tracing the contacts of each positive case and asking them to quarantine is crucial for allowing communities to safely reopen. If communities don't have enough tracers to quickly call and investigate each positive case and to effectively follow up with contacts, that strategy to curb transmission falls apart.
CNN, June 18, 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, "Unless players are essentially in a bubble -- insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day -- it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall."
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Neighborhood parade greets Pleasanton woman returning after long battle with Covid-19
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After 3 1/2 months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers after becoming infected by the coronavirus, Pleasanton resident Rita Fisher was greeted by a social-distancing procession of about 150 neighbors when she arrived home. As Fisher drove into the gated community
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with her husband, neighbors were spotted on the sidewalk with "Welcome Home" signs, waving as she drove by and shouting words of encouragement.
When the car pulled into the driveway, a parade of neighbors marched by her home, continuing to shout greetings and well wishes. The get-together culminated with a musical performance by some local teenage musicians who performed such hits as "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra on the saxophone and "You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman.
"It’s amazing," Fisher said from her driveway.
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Politico, June 18, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic revealed the fragility of the European project, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today, stressing that the EU’s response will determine its future prosperity and power. Merkel said the pandemic has revealed “how fragile the European project still is,” adding: "The first reflexes, including our own, were rather national and not entirely European. This was, as good as some reasons may have been, above all unreasonable. A global pandemic requires joint international action and mutual support."
Associated Press, June 18, 2020
As the race intensifies for a vaccine against the new coronavirus, rich countries are rushing to place advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee their citizens get immunized first, leaving significant questions about whether developing countries will get any vaccines in time to save lives before the pandemic ends.
Earlier this month, the United Nations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and others said it was a “moral imperative” that everyone have access to a “people’s vaccine.” But such grand declarations are unenforceable, and without a detailed strategy, the allocation of vaccines could be inequitable and extremely messy, said health experts.
Bloomberg, June 18, 2020
The peak of Beijing’s new coronavirus outbreak has already passed and further infections should be “sporadic,” said the country’s chief epidemiologist, as China seeks to project confidence over a resurgence of cases that’s plunged its capital into a partial lockdown. The 21 new reported infections on Thursday all contracted the virus before June 12 and the “peak” of the outbreak was on June 13, said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a briefing in Beijing on Thursday.
The Guardian, June 17, 2020
Despite restrictions, and Mexico’s rising death toll, which now stands at more than 17,000, the furtive celebrations have continued in the country with the world’s second-largest Catholic congregation and where more than 80% of people identify as Catholic. But Mexico is not the only country in Latin America, a region home to nearly 40% of the world’s Catholics, where Christians have held clandestine celebrations in a time of Covid-19. In Brazil, home to the world’s largest Catholic congregation and also a rapidly growing and politically powerful community of born-again Christians, evangelicals have also made surreptitious church visits.
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Kaiser Health News, June 18, 2020
President Trump has sought to downplay the numbers associated with Covid-19 in the US, which have passed 2 million confirmed cases and are nearing 120,000 lives lost, by arguing that the soaring national count was simply the result of superior testing. It’s a talking point the administration is emphasizing.
Independent researchers told us, though, that the president’s remarks are not only misleading, they’re also counterproductive in terms of thinking through what’s needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The numbers paint a stark picture. The US has recorded 2.1 million cases of the novel virus so far, about a quarter of the global total and more than any other country. To Trump’s point, the country is testing more now than it did at the start of the outbreak, per capita, the US is in the top 20% of countries when it comes to cumulative tests run. This beefed-up testing still likely reflects an undercount in cases, though.
New York Magazine, June 18, 2020
Given the virus’s incubation period, it was always going to take time to find out if the protests would lead to a spike in cases. That time has come, and three weeks after the protests began, cities across the country where some of the biggest demonstrations took place are reporting no surge in COVID-19 cases. In Minneapolis, the epicenter of the protests in late May,
1.4 percent of tests conducted on protesters last week came back positive
.
That was well under the state’s overall positive test rate at the time, which averaged 3.7 percent for the week. This week, 1,288 people were tested at a Boston site set up for protesters. Fourteen, or 1.08 percent,
came back positive
.
Experts have attributed the lack of a spike to the prevalence of face masks at the protests, the outdoor setting, and the relative youth of participants. “We can’t guarantee there’s not going to be a later rise,” stated Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, “but it’s a good sign we haven’t seen it yet.” One worry, Drexel epidemiologist Michael LeVasseur noted is that young, healthy people who’ve contracted the virus and remain asymptomatic will spread it to older, more vulnerable family members.
Lara Sorokanich, Fast Company, June 16, 2020
This pandemic offers a once-in-a-century chance to change course and undo some of the damage from the traffic and congestion and pollution. Cities around the world are turning to car-free streets as part of the recovery. Not because it’s fun or because of any political agenda, but it’s because streets that are accessible are better for business and better to live in. The pandemic can give cities a head start on a new road order.
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Alameda County Data
: 966 n
ew cases have been recorded over the last 14 days. The number of confirmed infections is currently doubling every 43.6 days.
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Contra Costa County Data
: 520 new cases have been recorded over last 14 days. The number of confirmed infections is currently doubling every 34.8 days.
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Top 8 Locations of Cases in Alameda County
, data as of 6/16/20
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Oakland:
1,769
Hayward:
813
Eden MAC:
294
Fremont:
227
San Leandro:
207
Union City:
160
Castro Valley:
143
Newark:
128
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Top 8 Locations of Cases in Contra Costa County
, data as of 6/16/20
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Richmond:
496
Concord:
259
San Pablo:
177
Antioch:
175
Pittsburgh:
140
Bay Point:
114
Brentwood:
74
Pleasant Hill:
73
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We have posted information on food pantries and food services in the cities of Hayward and San Leandro and unincorporated Alameda County including Castro Valley and San Lorenzo. You can access the information
here on our website
.
Alameda County has also released an
interactive map
listing food distributions and other social services.
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We are proud to partner with the
East Bay Community Foundation
in publishing this bulletin. Through donations to its
COVID-19 Response Fund,
the EBCF provides grants to East Bay nonprofit organizations delivering essential services to those most impacted by the economic fallout from the pandemic.
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Your feedback is welcome. Please share the Bulletin.
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The
Eden Health District Board of Directors
are Gordon Galvan, Chair, Mariellen Faria, Vice Chair, Charles Gilcrest, Secretary, Roxann Lewis and Pam Russo. The Chief Executive Officer is Mark Friedman.
The Eden Health District is committed to ensuring that policy makers and community members receive accurate and timely information to help make the best policy and personal choices to meet and overcome the challenges posed
by
the Covid-19 pandemic.
Each bulletin includes a summary of the top health, Bay Area, California, national and international news on the pandemic plus links to a diverse range of commentary and analysis. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday the bulletin includes an education section.
We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Please contact editor
Stephen Cassidy
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