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| AD HOC COMMITTEE ON COVID-19 ECONOMIC IMPACT AND RECOVERY |
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| Information |
| Referral History: |
Although the Board of Supervisors has authority over County issues, under State law, when an emergency of this nature is declared and there is a pandemic of this magnitude, the Health Officer of each county has the legal authority to impose whatever orders she or he deem necessary to protect the public.
On Tuesday, April 21, the Board of Supervisors formed this ad hoc committee to advise the Health Department on COVID19 impacts. The goal of the committee is to work toward having a sustainable COVID-19 mitigation and recovery plan. The committee will be working with the community and industry on issues of concern, advising the Board of Supervisors and the Health Officer on possible ways to interpret and apply Health Orders so they will continue to keep the community safe, but allow more businesses to re-open and provide common-sense applications to outdoor activities.
The Committee has so far conducted 20 public meetings on May 7, 14, 21 and 28; June 4, 11, 18, and 25; July 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30; August 13; September 3 and 17; October 15; November 19; December 17, 2020, and January 21, 2021 covering recreation and lifestyle services, in-home and other personal services, small businesses, religious gatherings, schools, and dining; a plan to move to fully to Stage 2 and, regrettably, the second surge that required postponement of many planned Phase 2 re-openings. A record of all prior Committee meetings is posted on the County website at this link. The committee has moved to a monthly meeting schedule unless changing circumstances dictate otherwise, taking up new developments in the pandemic and discussing a roadmap to recovery.
The State subsequently moved to a four-tier reopening plan, which has been the Committee's primary reference point since late August. Under the State's new Blueprint for a Safer Economy, every county is assigned to a tier by the State based on its test positivity and adjusted case rate (see Tier chart at the end of this section). The State reviews data weekly and tiers are updated on Tuesdays. To move forward, a county must meet the next tier’s criteria for two consecutive weeks. On September 29, Contra Costa County progressed from the Purple (most restrictive) Tier to the Red Tier, and on October 27, progressed again to the Orange Tier. Following a resurgence of new cases and increase in hospitalizations, the County, on November 16, was moved back to the Purple Tier where it has remained. Additionally, Governor Newsom implemented a Regional Stay-at-Home Order between December 3, 2020 and January 25, 2021 in response to concerns about shrinking ICU capacity. Click to learn more about tier assignments and metric details.
Late December 2020 brought the availability of two vaccines, one from Pfizer and one from Moderna. Both available vaccines require two injections a few weeks apart. The first injection starts building protection. A second injection a few weeks later is needed to get the most protection the vaccine has to offer. In response to guidelines from the State, Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) and other healthcare providers in the County are now offering the vaccine at no cost to all residents who are 65 or older. Click here to request an appointment from CCHS.
In Contra Costa and across the nation, historically marginalized communities are experiencing the most pronounced impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local community leaders continue to call upon the public to take COVID-19 seriously, and take steps to keep healthy and safe:
- Stay home from work or school if you feel sick
- Wash your hands often
- Wear face masks whenever you are near someone outside your immediate household
- Observe physical distancing outside the home and do not make unnecessary trips or visits
- Get tested and follow the health instructions if you test positive or were exposed to someone who tested positive
All Bay Area residents are also encouraged to get tested for COVID-19, and to do so immediately if they have symptoms. Check with your local health department for more information about testing and about efforts in your community to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, please visit cchealth.org/coronavirus to read the latest health order and its appendices, and for local information about Contra Costa's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here is a link to the updated FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions): FAQs
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| Referral Update: |
Deputy County Health Officer Dr. Thomas Warne will provide a COVID-19 update at today's meeting. Following Dr. Warne's remarks, the Committee will allow for Public Comment and will address questions specific to Dr. Warne's comments, the current Health Order, the vaccination allocation framework, and other guidance documents, attached. County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey may be available to provide an update on local school openings and respond to questions.
The most significant development since our last meeting on January 21, 2021 is the lifting of the Regional Stay at Home Order and the return of the County to the Purple Tier, under which:
- Restaurants may offer outdoor dining, following the state health guidelines.
- Hair salons, barber shops and personal services such as nail salons may reopen following state health guidelines.
- Outdoor social gatherings involving 25 or fewer people, from three or fewer different households, are permitted.
- Low contact youth sports are permitted outdoors following the state health guidelines.
- Indoor worship and cultural ceremonies are permitted at 25% capacity, following the state health guidelines.
Also, Contra Costa County kicked off a countywide drive to provide 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine by July 4. Vaccine eligibility is rapidly expanding in California, and Contra Costa is coordinating with the State and building capacity to fill thousands of new requests. Vaccine appointments are not first come, first served. Contra Costa established a vaccine allocation framework that follows State and Federal guidelines for prioritizing immunization. That means someone in a higher-risk group, especially someone who is 75 or older, might receive an earlier appointment than a younger person, even if they requested their appointment later. See the Distribution Phases illustration below.
It is important to know that even though any County resident who is 65 or older is eligible for vaccine, appointments may be weeks away for some people. CCHS is working hard with many partners, including other health providers in the County, to increase capacity so everyone can be vaccinated more quickly. Contra Costa Health Services will promptly respond to requests with an email that contains more information.
Contra Costa County has opened 20 vaccination sites and is opening more every day across the county at health centers and other large facilities to vaccinate eligible individuals. CCHS has also begun shifting staffing from COVID testing sites to vaccination efforts to increase capacity. We also have activated our volunteer Medical Reserve Corps to give vaccine, and the health department is working with fire agencies to use paramedics to administer vaccine.
County health departments aren't the only ones who are stepping up. Private health systems such as Kaiser, Sutter and John Muir Health — who are the primary healthcare providers for the vast majority of Contra Costa residents — are all scaling up their efforts to vaccinate their own members and let them know when it's their turn. Pharmacies are also coming online to provide vaccinations as more people become eligible. CVS and Walgreens are already vaccinating those living in long-term care facilities and their staff.
About 900,000 Contra Costa residents will be eligible for vaccine once the County reaches Phase 2 of the distribution plan. To reach community-immunity levels, 75% of those eligible (725,000 people) would need to be vaccinated in the county. In order to immunize 725,000 people over the next six months (104 business days), roughly 7,000 people will need to be vaccinated every business day on average. That will require a significant boost in vaccinations from current levels. During the first few weeks since a vaccine became available in mid-December, 30,245 shots have been given – about 1,200 a day.
Click here for the latest about COVID-19 vaccination in Contra Costa. The chart below outlines the order in which people will become eligible to get vaccinated based on criteria developed by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Vaccine doses purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars will be given at no cost to individuals. Vaccination providers may charge an administration fee, usually billed to an individual's insurance.
Purple Tier Assignment: As of December 8, Contra Costa County remains in the Purple or most restrictive COVID Tier due to case rate and the equity metric. The State will move our county to the next tier once the following three criteria have been met for two consecutive weeks:
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Cases Rate: Less than 7 new cases per 100,000 residents
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Positivity Rate: Less than 8% of tests countywide are positive
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Equity Metric: Less than 8% of tests for residents of the lowest quartile of the Healthy Places Index census tracts are positive
Schools: The state health department has released new school guidance. There is a state hub of local school information providing more transparency on the status of school reopenings. See this letter for more information. The State, on January 14, 2021, also updated its COVID-19 and Reopening In-Person Instruction Framework & Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2020-2021 School Year .
Updated County Quarantine Order: The December 10 Quarantine Order superseded the October 8, 2020 Order No. HO-COVID19-32, directing close contacts of persons diagnosed with COVID-19 to quarantine themselves, with an exception for certain essential workers in critical infrastructure sectors. Based on updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this Order shortened the quarantine period for most individuals from 14 to 10 days. This Order also prohibits employees of detention facilities and long-term care facilities from returning to work for four days after completion of the 10-day quarantine requirement. |
| Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): |
| RECEIVE status report on the County's COVID-19 status, the County's vaccination allocation framework, and school re-openings. |
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