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Supervisor Candace Andersen, Chair
Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, Vice Chair |
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1. | Introductions | ||||||||||
Chair Andersen called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m., and introduced Vice Chair, Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, Deputy County Health Officer Dr. Tom Warne and County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey. | |||||||||||
2. | Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda (speakers may be limited to two minutes). | ||||||||||
All public comment was taken after Item 3. | |||||||||||
3. | RECEIVE update on most recent COVID-19 developments. | ||||||||||
Dr. Warne presented updates from Contra Costa Health Services Department. The County Health Officer issued a new social distancing order effective September 16 to align with the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The new blueprint is less confusing, and easier to decipher and anticipate when businesses can open. Under the new blueprint, additional personal care services not involving the face may now open outdoors, racetracks and cardrooms may operate outdoors, film/music/TV production may operate, and professional sports can resume without live audiences. The blueprint maintains guidance on social bubbles. The County is currently in the Purple or most restrictive tier of four tiers. By taking health and safety precautions, we can help the County move to the less restrictive Red Tier and advance the county’s economic and social recovery. Cchealth.org/corona now has the dashboard updated to align with the State’s new metrics. Two main parameters determining Tier placement:
Current trends indicate that the County may be able to move to Red Tier in October. The County is working on school waivers for lower elementary grades. 20 have been approved/posted on the State website. We have not denied any applications. The Office of Education is working to strengthen applications. The broader opening of schools will depend on the county moving to the Red Tier. Confluence of the pandemic with flu season is a concern. A double surge during winter months could overwhelm hospitals. It is possible to contract both COVID and seasonal flu, so Dr. Warne recommends getting a flu shot. Symptoms of COVID-19 and seasonal flu are similar. CCHealth has developed guidance for Halloween and strongly discourages traditional Halloween trick or treating because it becomes difficult to maintain social distancing and hygiene, particularly between people from different households. It would present an unsafe situation this year. In response to questions received during previous week: False positives? Inaccurate tests are a problem but shouldn’t prevent the county from getting to the lowest tier. PCR tests and now antigen tests have high sensitivity and specificity. False positives will likely be less than 2%, and that 2% rate applies only to tests that should have been negative so, mathematically, its even much lower than 2%. In reference to the State switching to median vs. mean/average, Dr. Warne believes that the median will be easier to achieve than the numerical mean. Dr. Warne clarified that HOA pools can be used in accordance with State guidance for pools. First, a virus prevention plan must be put in place, rules will need to be observed and a pool monitor is required. He referred people to the State guidance regarding indoor sports camps. The State has guidance about stable cohorts, up to 16, or 14 children and two adults. Regarding social distancing postings for businesses, and the concern that the required postings reduce visibility and present a security concern, Dr. Warne said that the local health order no longer requires the posting of local health orders at places of business. However, the State guidance requires that most businesses post a checklist (available at the State website) applicable to their business sector. Regarding school openings, the County is following the State guidance. We are not being more restrictive than the State in this and with the waiver process. We are ahead of some of the other Bay Area counties in recommending school waivers. Regarding safety upon school reopening, the State guidance limits size to the “number practicable”. Regarding concerns about cohorts becoming too big, the State guidance is clear and County will not be limiting cohorts beyond what the State requires. Local school districts will craft their own plans in accordance with State guidelines. Supervisor Andersen invited public comment.
Chair Andersen thanked the speakers for their input and said that while we do not always agree on these issues, she and other officials will continue to make decisions they believe are in the best interest of community safety. She emphasized the importance of education and said each school district will make its own plan for reopening. Dr. Warne explained that the guidance on cohort size has evolved over the last few weeks. The State guidance said the maximum size is 16, which the County had interpreted as 14 children and two adults. However, there is flexibility: it can also be interpreted as 15:1 in certain circumstances. Higher needs children might require a higher ratio of adults to children. The State has developed specific guidelines for different business sectors. That specificity may seem arbitrary, but they must be sufficiently discrete to be applicable across the state. Once we move to Red Tier, businesses permitted to open in that Tier will not have to wait for a specific County health order. Dr. Warne said that swimming can proceed in certain circumstances such as a stable swim club operating within the State guidelines. Swim meets can theoretically be done with proper social distancing between lanes and complying with other guidelines. Currently, playgrounds are not allowed to open in any Tier. We must wait for clearance from the State. He recommended that parents look for opportunities within the guidelines to create social interaction for their kids, such as a stable playgroup. Veterinary offices without adequate space to do social distancing can use masking to minimize virus transmission. Look for ways to accommodate and maintain distances with owners as much as possible. With reference to learning from the experience of other states, Dr. Warne agreed that we should be doing more to learn from other states and that this point is very well taken. He concluded by imploring people to continue to follow the prevention measures and get tested to move our county to the Red Tier. Chair Andersen said that health insurance will be billed for test costs first. Dr. Warne said the test costs are decreasing. In general, the public is not paying for the tests. If insurance will not pay, then County will pay with CARES Act funds. He said the cost of testing is predictable. The costs of not testing would be very high. Vice Chair Mitchoff said that people are reporting being denied tests by Kaiser unless they are symptomatic. A reminder will be going out to all county hospitals that anyone can be tested with or without symptoms. If a person is being denied a test, he is instructed to come to the County Hospital for a test. You can schedule online or on the phone. Testing will assist the County is attaining and maintaining a less restrictive Tier assignment. She asked that we set our individualism aside in this case and consider the benefit that getting tested will have on others. |
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4. | DISCUSS issues associated with school closures and the preparation for the reopening of schools for 2020-2021. | ||||||||||
Chair Andersen introduced County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey. Ms. Mackey acknowledged the very differing opinions on the reopening of schools evidenced by the callers’ comments today and said it mirrors similar impassioned input received by her office. Some ask why we aren’t opening schools already while others ask why we are considering putting students in harm’s way by opening schools. People are very divided on the issue. She explained the decision-making process. Absent a health order or order from the State or local office, the decision to open or close is up to each local school board. County Schools was waiting for State guidance on how to incorporate all the prevention strategies into the school administration. First, schools were bound by the State’s watch list and now the four Tiers. Schools cannot open fully until we attain the Red Tier. The County Office of Education checks the waiver applications for responsiveness and completeness, and then passes the waivers to the Health Department for review. 31 waivers have been received and 27 have been passed to Health so far. The State approved 16 so far. Public schools have not applied for waivers primarily because of the way public schools are funded and currently staffed. It would not be feasible for public schools to operate with just small cohorts, where one teacher is with the same cohort the entire time. Once we are in the Red Tier, she predicts that schools won’t be able to immediately reopen. There will likely be a sort of hybrid model developed using cohorts split between one or more teachers. She recommended that parents who are struggling with distance learning for their children contact the teachers directly and then the school principal. Possibly, that school can offer an accommodation. Each school district decides whether it will offer specialized supports for high need students. All the educators want students to come back to school. Once the county attains the Red Tier, each school board will decide its own reopening plan. County Schools will provide guidance that aligns with the State, but the decisions will be made locally by each district and be influenced by local factors. For example, master scheduling is very complex, and it might not make sense to reopen just before the end of a grading period. Training was recently provided to childcare workers who support distance learning. Because each school board sets the schedule and plan, we need to understand that childcare workers need support. Ms. Mackey promised to bring this matter to the attention of local school superintendents. She is looking into the development of in-person learning scholarships for special needs students. Regarding school transportation, Districts will survey to determine if any parents are willing to transport students. Only a limited number of students will be allowed on a bus due to social distancing, so they are presently trying to assess the numbers and needs. She said that high schools and middle schools are not prohibited from using cohorts once they reopen but incorporating cohorts at that school level would be challenging due to curriculum. She concluded by saying she personally understands the challenges for parents as she is similarly concerned about her grandson. She said she intends to continue attending the County’s COVID-19 meetings since schools will likely continue to be a topic of high interest. Chair Andersen thanked Ms. Mackey for the information she shared. |
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5. | RECEIVE and APPROVE the Record of Action for the September 3, 2020 meeting. | ||||||||||
The Committee approved the Record of Action for the September 3, 2020 meeting as presented. | |||||||||||
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6. | The next meeting is currently scheduled for October 15, 2020. | ||||||||||
Chair Andersen confirmed the next scheduled meeting date of October 15, 2020 unless changing circumstances warrant the scheduling of a special meeting. | |||||||||||
7. | Adjourn | ||||||||||
Chair Andersen adjourned the meeting at 3:30 p.m. | |||||||||||
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