While we wait for additional guidance from the state on what else can safely reopen, yesterday the County of San Diego provided an overview of the 13 data points that will determine if the reopenings will hold.
All along, officials have used a dial analogy to describe how and when the restrictions in public health orders would be adjusted. Naturally, the focus has been on a clockwise movement. In recent weeks we’ve seen many of the major restrictions eased, from beach closures to retail shops and offices. If things don’t go well, health officials may also dial things back.
13 measures to watch
The measures established by the county fall into three categories:
Epidemiology (disease tracking)
- New cases
- New community outbreaks (clusters of 11 or more related cases)
- “COVID-like” cases reported
- “Influenza-like illnesses” reported
Health care system (hospital capacity)
- Hospital capacity
- Increase in hospitalizations
- ICU capacity
- Ventilator capacity
- Personal protective equipment supply
Public health response
- Cases as a percentage of testing
- Capacity to investigate cases
- Capacity to trace contacts of patients
- Shelter available for homeless
These triggers will be updated regularly and displayed on a
new public dashboard
.
Color coding will let people see immediately how the region is doing. Right now all measures are green for good. Let’s keep it that way!
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Contact tracing update
The next call you get from an unknown number could very well be a local health official advising you of potential exposure to the new coronavirus. The county has been scaling up its contract tracing efforts as more people are able to get out of the house for shopping, eating in restaurants, haircuts and a day at the beach.
Contact tracing is actually a decades-old public health practice. Here’s how it works for COVID-19. When someone is diagnosed, it’s important to identify all the people who could have potentially come into close contact while that person was infectious. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a close contact is someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 48 hours before symptoms developed in the case and until the time the patient was isolated.
So far, the county has hired 400 people to work in this area. Since May 4, the team has investigated more than 3,100 contacts. Usually, those most at risk are family members and others within the same household. They are advised to self-quarantine at home and monitor themselves for symptoms like a fever, cough or shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
If you don’t typically answer calls from unknown numbers, be sure to check your voicemail and call the contact tracer back. The tracers need to know your status and may, in turn, need to contact people you have come across recently.
Until a vaccine is available, contact tracing will be an important activity to further prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our region.
Be cautious
Contract tracers will identify themselves as being part of the county, and all information gathered during the contact tracing effort is kept confidential. Unfortunately, we have already heard of scammers posing as contact tracers. Contact tracers will never ask for your social security number or any financial information. They will also not text you before calling. Here is an example of a scam:
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When you click on a link like this, something could get downloaded onto your computer or phone that enables thieves to steal your personal information. The FCC has some good
tips for avoiding scams
like this. Please read this information!
Case numbers
Carlsbad remains at 77 cases for the third day in a row. We estimate six of these reported cases are currently active, but keep in mind many people with COVID-19 are not part of the official county because they do not show symptoms, yet could still infect others.
- A record 4,940 tests were reported by the county yesterday (VERY close to the goal of 5,000 tests a day) and 124 or 3% were positive. The new count total is 7,798.
- 2.9% was yesterday’s 14-day rolling average percentage of positive tests.
- 1,363 or 17.5% of the total cases have required hospitalization.
- 392 or 5% of all cases had to be admitted to the intensive care unit.
- I am sad to once again report seven additional deaths in our region related to COVID-19, bringing the new total to 283.
- Four men and three women died, and their ages ranged from 46 to 91 years. Six had underlying medical conditions, and one did not.
- There are currently 55 active outbreaks; 43 at congregate living facilities and 12 in community settings.
Carlsbad cases
Map
showing case numbers in the county
San Diego cases
California cases
U.S. and global cases
What’s next?
On Tuesday the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors authorized a
letter to the governor
seeking local control over opening:
- Hotels
- Gyms
- Wineries/breweries
- Churches to full safe distancing capacities
- Theme parks
- Youth sports
- Charter and fishing boats
- Pools (recreational and therapeutic)
- Arts and culture museums
- Additional businesses
This was a follow up to the
187-page “attestation” of readiness
submitted to the state in May. I encourage you to look through this document. It will give you a good feel for the level of detail and rigor involved in managing this public health crisis.
Even though the governor said counties could decide for themselves how quickly to move through stage 3 of reopening, they must still wait for the state to release guidance for specific types of activities.
Special meeting reminder
The City Council will hold a special meeting at 4:30 p.m. today to discuss parking at the beach and city parks. You can watch live on the
city’s cable channel and website
.
This topic has generated a lot of interest, and we will report out on social media what decisions are made (I will cover in tomorrow’s update as well). If you have already provided comments, they have been provided to the City Council. No need to resubmit.
Change in police policy
I know this is supposed to be a COVID-19 update, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a change in police policy we announced last night. Effective immediately, the City of Carlsbad Police Department will join with law enforcement throughout the region in
halting the use of a technique called the carotid hold
.
This looks like a chokehold, but instead of constricting the airway it constricts one or both of a person’s carotid arteries, rendering a suspect quickly unconscious.
To be clear, kneeling on a suspect’s neck is not an example of this technique. However, following the shocking video and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, community members have expressed increased concerns about the use of the carotid hold. Stopping its use is the right thing to do.
I am proud to report that the City of Carlsbad has among the very best ratings statewide when it comes to appropriate use of force. A group called
Campaign Zero
,
which advocates against excessive force, ranked Carlsbad number one in its first report card, released in 2016. The most recent report card, covering 2016 to 2018, ranks Carlsbad number three among the top 100 law enforcement agencies in California.
Protests
Some of you have asked for more specifics about how the Carlsbad Police Department plans to handle protests in our city. Please know that we are aware of what is being shared about potential protests, including those threatening violence. Law enforcement agencies do not share the details of their tactical or operational plans because doing so would render them ineffective. However, they have been shared with me, and we are prepared to maintain a safe and peaceful environment in our city.
Please also keep in mind that gatherings of any kind (other than with members of your own household) are currently not allowed under the COVID-19 public health order.
Looking ahead
I’ll be back tomorrow with more updates. Starting Monday, I am going to switch to a MWF update schedule, similar to the county’s public health briefings. We will keep our website and social media updated several times daily, so please make sure you follow us there if you don’t already.
Thank you for everything you are doing to keep Carlsbad safe. Please keep up the good work!
Scott Chadwick
City Manager
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