Mendocino County reports on coronavirus preparations; no cases locally

County declares public health emergency to prepare

March 05, 2020

Mendocino County officials held a press conference Thursday morning to update the public about their preparedness plans for COVID-19, otherwise known as coronavirus. Mendocino County Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan stressed that Mendocino County still has zero cases of COVID-19.

California declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus on Wednesday, and the U.S. Congress recently approved around $8.3 billion to fight the virus. The coronavirus was first found in Wuhan, China, in December of 2019.

As part of its preparation, Mendocino County declared a public health emergency on Wednesday that allows the county to have better emergency planning and coordination between state and federal agencies. The emergency declaration also lets the county collect reimbursement from state and federal governments for programs and initiatives needed to combat the virus.

Dr. Doohan said information about the coronavirus is rapidly evolving, but that the county is staying on top of the situation and preparing for any scenario. She said that they had monitored people in the county, and the county is fortunate that they have not found any cases in Mendocino County.

Doohan said coronavirus testing is controlled by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and there is no FDA-approved commercial testing available at doctors’ offices. The CDC controls the testing process, and the CDC distributes test kits to state public health labs. Only around 5,000 test kits have been given to California.

Doohan said that if there were a test in Mendocino County, she would approve the testing with the CDC, and it would have to be transported and tested at a public health lab. Mendocino County does not have a public health lab. The results of the test at this time would likely take days, and the county would get the results from a public health lab in Richmond. Doohan stressed that the priority for the 5,000 test kits in California is making sure they test people at the highest risk of having COVID-19, and many tests might be used for high-risk situations in other parts of California like cruise ships when they suspect someone had been exposed to COVID-19.

She said they had not tested anyone for COVID-19 in Mendocino County at this time because no one has met the criteria, although she does expect there to be some testing for COVID-19 in the future. She has decided to prioritize who they test in Mendocino County, and they will focus on people with high-risk exposure, people who have had contact with a COVID-19 case, or people hospitalized who have a serious respiratory illness. She is hopeful that there will be a commercially available COVID-19 test in the future for the community that will be more widely available.

Doohan said that some good news about COVID-19 is that 80 percent of people have mild symptoms, children don’t seem to be affected in a serious way, and the virus can be easily killed with disinfectant or soap. Droplets spread the virus, and people can protect themselves by wearing a surgical mask. She encouraged people to stay home if they are sick, call clinics before they visit if they have a fever or respiratory symptoms, and to try and refrain from shaking hands until they get through COVID-19.

Ukiah Valley Adventist Health officials said that they had prepared the hospital with isolation rooms and medical professionals who are trained in infectious disease. The hospital has also educated medical staff about COVID-19 and held drills and demonstrations about the coronavirus. Masks and sanitizers are also available at clinics and hospitals. Adventist Health officials also said the hospital would utilize its disaster plan if they experience a surge of people with COVID-19 symptoms.

As part of the efforts to keep the public up-to-date, Mendocino County will be sending out a press release every Monday on their progress. Mendocino County will also have a call center at (707) 234-6052 during regular business hours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The county said the call center would have a person every shift with bilingual skills in Spanish available for people. The public can also visit www.mendocinocounty.org for the latest local news on COVID-19 or email callcenter@mendocinocounty.org for more information.

Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall said that the sheriff’s office is working hard to make sure the Mendocino County Jail is prepared for any health emergencies and coordinating with the Mendocino County government to be prepared.

Representatives from the offices of U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, California State Sen. Mike McGuire, and State Assembly member Jim Wood were also at the press conference and gave updates about funding efforts at the state and federal level to prepare for COVID-19.

The full press conference can be found online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqTa2XTexGk.


By:  CURTIS DRISCOLL
Source: The Ukiah Daily Journal