During the second week of June, 510 San Diegans in that age bracket got sick with COVID-19. Another 1,144 got sick the following week, and during the last week of June the number jumped to 1,595. The figures began to decrease again when indoor activities at those same places were closed again. The total was down to 1,028 by the week ending July 11.
“The invincibles”
Some have started to refer to young people as “the invincibles,” partially because young people tend not to worry as much about health problems and partially because early reports showed COVID-19 was not likely to affect young people as much as older folks.
The county’s public health officer confirmed yesterday that not only are young people getting sick, but they are ending up at emergency rooms and needing hospitalization.
During the second week of June 10, a total of 16 San Diegans between 20 and 39 years of age were hospitalized. The figured dropped to 12 the following week and jumped to 27 the last week of June. Again, the number began to decrease when certain sectors of the economy were closed and was down to 18 by July 11.
Not like the flu
Dr. Scott Eisman, a pulmonary disease and critical care medicine expert at Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas, spoke at yesterday’s news conference, warning that the novel coronavirus could cause serious health issues, especially in young people who smoke or vape. Dr. Eisman acknowledged that the mortality rate among younger people is lower than other age groups, but it is not zero.
He also stressed that getting COVID-19 is not “just like the flu,” which he often hears from younger people. In fact, according Dr. Eisman, COVID-19 complications are far greater, more serious and may be longer lasting. That’s because COVID-19 does not just affect the lungs. It’s been found to causes neurologic disorders, stroke (in young and old), weakness, cardiac malfunctions, kidney complications, and blood system and liver issues. He went on to explain that the medical community is still learning about this new disease, but with the 2003 SARS virus, which is similar, patients experienced decreased lung function for a year or longer.
Update on outbreaks
The number of COVID-19 outbreaks in community settings has followed a similar pattern of increasing as more activities have been allowed. In May, only eight community outbreaks were reported, and in June there were 33. Midway through July, we have already seen 38 in the county, with restaurants/bars and private residences the most common locations.
County hiring more case investigators
Due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the county is hiring additional people to do case investigations, which are critical to quickly tracking and slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The county’s goal is to start investigations within 24 hours of cases being reported at least 70% of the time. This number had been dropping, then started to go back up, closer to the 70% goal. Over the last several days, however, the spike in new cases has resulted in only 46% of investigations starting within the 24-hour window.
Case investigators call or email people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to ask them to isolate themselves and find out about their close contacts. Bilingual applicants are especially encouraged to
apply for the temporary position
.
The new hires will join the more than 510 case investigators and contact tracers currently working to stop the spread of the virus.
Update on triggers
In addition to the case investigations trigger, the county is missing two other benchmarks, community outbreaks and number of cases per capita.
Four new community outbreaks were reported by the county yesterday, in a hair salon, a barbershop, a restaurant/bar and a laboratory. A reporter asked if the lab was a COVID-19 testing location. County officials said it was, but was not a result of inadequate lab precautions. Instead, it involved workers interacting outside the work environment in a break area.
In the past seven days, 14 community outbreaks were confirmed, double the trigger number. The state’s threshold of no more than 100 cases per every 100,000 residents is also in the red, currently at 147.2 in San Diego County.
The rolling 14-day average of positive COVID-19 tests based on total tests is 6.3%, below the threshold of 8%.
Carlsbad has 16 more cases since my Tuesday update for a new cumulative total of 334, of which we estimate 167 are active right now.
Outdoor business operations
If, based on my Tuesday update, you were looking forward to getting your next haircut al fresco, I am afraid I have some bad news. The State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology has said that their state license requires hair services to be done in a licensed “facility,” which does not include moving outdoors. Local officials have appealed to the state to reconsider this limitation, some even sharing photos from the Spanish Flu of 1918 showing people getting a trim on the sidewalk. I’ll keep you posted as this evolves.
P.S. Am I the only one who didn’t realize “barbering” was a word?
The city has set up a
website
for other types of businesses that want to explore moving their operations outside. We’ve got a pretty simple process that involves two options:
1) Move into a private parking lot
2) Move into the city’s “right of way,” such as the sidewalk
The first option is free. The second costs a flat rate of $381, but can only be done in the Village and Barrio areas. We’ve put extra resources in place so that once a business fills out the application and provides all the needed information, we can process approval in about two business days.
Loan program update
Also on the business front, the city’s application for microloans is now available. There are options for large and small businesses, and the interest rate varies depending on how long the payback period is. All of the details are available on the city’s
website
.
In other news …
I know it seems like all you hear about these days is COVID-19 – I feel that way too. But, I want to assure you that city business is continuing. Earlier this week we had our 21
st
virtual City Council meeting. Combined with meetings of our boards and commissions, we have now held 46 online public meetings since the start of the local health emergency.
In addition to that, we have set up 527 city employees to work remotely, held over 1,000 Zoom meetings and conducted more than 7,000 internal meetings using other online collaboration platforms.
I know government gets a bad rap when it comes to innovation and technology, but I have to say I am very proud of our city team. Literally overnight our staff has transformed the way we do business, improvising and working together to make sure essential city services continued when most of the rest of the world was shut down. This has had the added benefit of reducing costs. For printing alone, we’ve taken what used to be about a $5,000 a month printing bill and reduce it to less than $300.
So, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. We’ve made it work, and I am confident these new, more efficient ways of operating will continue long after our offices reopen to the public.
I’m meeting with city staff today (our largest virtual meeting to date) to check in and provide some updates. We strung together this series of video clips to help our staff see
some of the great
work that has taken place around the city since the start of the COVID-19 emergency. I thought you might like to see it too.
That’s it until next week. Please remember to follow all health precautions:
- Cover your face
- Keep 6 feet from others not in your household
- Wash your hands oft
- Don’t touch your face
- Avoid gatherings and crowds
- Don’t go out if you’re sick
We can once again slow the spread, if we all take responsibility for our own actions and if we all continue to #Care4Carlsbad.
Thank you!
Scott Chadwick
City Manager
