09.30.20 COVID-19 Briefing Live Stream Transcript

The County of Santa Clara
September 30, 2020
Live Stream - Briefing Live stream
10:00am PT

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David Campos: Good morning everyone and welcome to live with the County of Santa Clara. My name is David Campos. I'm a co-lead public information officer. I'm here with my co-lead, Betty Duong. As you could see, we were wearing our face coverings before we started the, the recording the taping, but we took off our coverings so that we could allow the ASL interpreter to properly interpret uh the program this morning. So thank you very much for being with us. I hope everyone is safe, and today we're here to talk about what it means to be in the red uh tier risk level. As you know, a few weeks back the state of California moved from a system that plays people on a watch list, counties on a watch list, and now has different levels of risks, colors of dictating. So I'm here with Betty to talk about what it means to be in the red tier. A lot of people have some confusion about that, and we have heard in comments on Social Media, that because we have been on the red risk tier for about three weeks that that means that we are automatically moved into the next next
level. And so, Betty can you explain a little bit about what it means to be in this level, and, and how that works?

Betty Duong: Sure. So you know, we, as we all know, um or most of us know, we are currently in the Red Tier, which is um um you know
the second strictest Tier um on the, the State's, um the State's measure, structure, framework there, and it's really determined by two metrics. And I'm going to say, it's really determined by three metrics, right? so The first metric is going to be, there are, is going to be our daily case rate per 100,000, and the second metrics is our adjusted, is our positivity rate. So at this time, um our as of today, our daily case rate per 100,000 is 5.9, uh which puts us into the red tier, substantial tier. Our adjusted daily case rate though is 4.7. That's the rate we're being evaluated on, and the reason why that number is lower than actual, actual case rate, is because of the massive testing, all the testing that our county residents have, have gone through and undertaken on a regular basis. The second major metric is the positivity rate. The positivity rate in Santa Clara County right now is 2.4. So for all those who are paying attention to the tiered system, our 2.4 positivity rate puts us into the orange zone, but because our adjusted daily case rate still falls into the red tier, that, you know, we're still in the red tier. When, when one out of the two metrics, when two metrics fall into two different tiers, it's going to be the red the more stricter tier that we're going to be assigned to. And that's where we currently are right now. In the red tier, um you know more businesses are allowed to resume.  um Indoor personal care services are now have been allowed to resume, um but uh you know, there's still some restrictions here at the County that's different from the State's here.

DC: so before we get into that. Just so that people understand. uh So we have a situation where the two main metrics, the, the number of cases per 100,000 and then the positivity rate, uh they're uh such that each one puts us in a different risk level but the strictest one applies, so that's why we are in red. Now we also remind people that the purple uh tier, which is the strictest, is what we moved out of into the red, and that happened because of the progress that has been made and the sacrifices that every resident has made. So let's talk about what it means to be in the in the red risk  level, in red tier. uh What does that mean in terms of what businesses are allowed?

BD: So um you know, the, the big, like I mentioned, the biggest change is probably um of the resumption of indoor personal care services; massages, hair services, nail salons, are now allowed to resume indoor operations. While we were in the purple tier, you all
may remember that those services were still being provided outside. Now we do differ from the State's requirements in a number of ways,
at this time, even though we're in the red tier, the County does not allow for indoor dining, does not allow for indoor movie theaters
to operate, and we do not allow for indoor gatherings. I just want to remind everybody that the State's guidelines serve as a floor, not the ceiling, and that's by design. There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all set of guidance for the whole State of California, so while the State's guide serves as the floor, it allows each county to move through various levels of restrictions, right? Well I mean not move, but you know, each county is able to determine its own set of restrictions. We can never be less strict than the State, but we can be more strict in the State. And that's really based on the number one priority to prevent the loss of lives. At the end of
the day, that's the number one priority guiding everything. And so to do that, we need to have sometimes we need to have more, more restrictions than the state because of the demographics, because of the, the population size, because of our the amount of industry and commerce that takes place here in the county, there are just certain risks that we're not ready to take yet.

DC: Now before we continue. I do want to acknowledge that we started a little late today, and we had some technical difficulties.
You know, we're always trying to improve our systems. So our apologies to people for starting a few minutes late, and thank you for
hanging in there with us. So let's talk about, sort of how this process works. So we are in the red tier. uh The next level, the next the less strict level is orange, so how does Santa Clara County go from red to orange? How does that work, Betty?

BD: Well, the main thing that we can do is that we can continue to test. Right now our positivity rate is squarely in the orange tier, it's 2.4. You need 2 to 4.9 to be in their orange tier. So we're there, but because our case rate is still in the red tier, that's why we're still in the, the more strict tier. um The more testing we do, will give us um will be incentivized, with a lower daily case rate, with the more testing that we do. So just based on the, the way the State calculates the rates, the more testing, the better. um And so you know, we gotta continue testing. We're gonna keep on pushing it. We've seen a lot of social media comments. You know saying, "We get it. We get it!" Like "we've heard this before," and we're going to keep on pushing it until we just get to a point where, you
know, we, we could, we could just have some sense of normalcy again. And that's what we're looking forward to, a safe future for all of us. And you know, again, we have to remind everybody continue to wear your face covering, practice social distancing, and wash your
hands. um Those are the main things.

DC: So let's talk about this, because as you noted our, our case rate is 5.9 per 100,000, but then when it's adjusted for the
level of testing that we're doing, it's 4.7.

BD: Yes.

DC: Right? As I understand it, to be able to move to orange, you have to be lower than four, right?

BD:  You have to be 3.9 or below, so 1 to 3.9, is going to put us into the orange zone.

DC: So even with the level of testing that we're doing, 4.7, we're still not in the orange level?

BD: No not yet.

DC: Now can we talk a little bit about the rules? right. so as I understand it, once you move to a, a new level, you have to be in
that level for at least three weeks, right? And then you have to be in the numbers, that allow you to be in the next level, for at least two consecutive weeks, right? So you're really looking at a five-week period for you to be able to finally moved into a next phase, right?

BD: Yeah. So we spent a little over like three weeks, I think almost a month, in the red tier now. We just got to hit that um orange tier number for not for at least two weeks, before we could squarely be there.

DC: So let's talk about San Francisco, because a lot of people are saying you know, so San Francisco moved to to the next level. They're, they're now orange.

BD: Right. yeah. I heard the news this morning, as I'm sure everyone else has. Oh and the news this week, yeah?

DC: So, so let's look at San Francisco's numbers right, because you know we are doing well in the positivity rate, but it's the case numbers, that that are the issue here. So San Francisco's uh unadjusted case number is 5.3, but their adjusted number is 3.2, which is under 3.9, so that allowed them ... So why is San Francisco able to, to be orange? How did that adjustment happen?

BD: Well, one reason. Testing. San Francisco has, has conducted more tests than we, we have. um On a on a daily rate they test way more people than than our county has. um You know, our county does have way more people, a larger population. But you know, kudos to San Francisco and to the residence of San Francisco for being so committed and making testing part of their weekly routine, their regular routine, and that's really what what what has put them into the orange tier. um And you know, I feel very confident, David that that our our residents will be able to rise to the same challenge.

DC: Well one thing that I would note, is that San Francisco began this with a an infrastructure, they have an ongoing relationship with the UC system, so they were able to really you know implement, uh high scale broad testing from the very beginning. We had to develop that, and we actually are testing more than most counties. San Francisco is testing more than any other county so, so I want to talk about that, because uh the the need to increase testing is why we issued the testing order, right? And so as we pointed out before, the county is doing its part. We are testing more uh than our fair share, you know a lot of the testing that's happening in in the County of Santa Clara is being done by the County system, so if these private health hospitals actually tested at the level that we wanted them to test, we probably would be in the orange today.

BD: I, you know I think that's a fair conclusion to make, and just as a reminder for folks, the Testing Order that David is referencing, is a recent health order that requires all major healthcare facilities in Santa Clara County to provide you with an easy, accessible, free COVID-19 test. If you fall into one of three categories: category one, if you are an essential frontline worker; if you work at a job that requires you to interact with members of the public on a regular basis, you you should even if you have no symptoms, you should get a COVID-19 test, at least once a month. If you do more than that, no one's going to be mad at you. The second category is that if you have had contact or engagement with someone who is a known positive; and then the third category, is if you're experiencing any type of COVID-like symptoms, which and you know during this season can be easily confused with flu-like symptoms, or other type of cold symptoms, but those are the three categories, and if you fall into any one of those categories, contact your health care provider. They should be able to provide, they are required to provide you with a an easy, accessible, timely, free COVID-19 test.

DC: So again, you know, if we had a situation where these healthcare providers were testing at a higher level, chances are that we would be able to have the numbers to move into the next phase?

BD: I think so.

DC: So so we're at 4.7. again, what is it that we need to be at to be able to move?

BD: 3.9

DC: 3.9? And for how long do we have to be in that range to be able to move to the next tier?

BD: For at least two weeks.

DC: okay for at least two weeks?

BD: And I know we can do it!

DC: okay great! Thank you, Betty. uh I think we wanted to take this opportunity to really you know share that information with folks, clarify any questions that people have, and just so you know, we do read your comments, and we try to be as responsive as we can to every comment, so thank you for tuning in. uh Please stay safe out there, and you know it's because of the sacrifices that people in the County of Santa Clara have made that we are where we are, and if we continue to do that, we'll be able to move to the next phase.

BD: Thank you, David.

DC: Thank you very much.

BD: um a couple reminders, is that you know at this time in the in the County, services directly to the face is still not allowed. I know that that really affects our estheticians out there. We hear you. We see you. We read all of our comments. Esthetician, uh estheticians and the esthetician industry is in every single meeting, that's that's happening every single day. um It really is requiring us to monitor you know it really requires that we monitor the current status of COVID and the spread of COVID throughout our community, um that will determine what the future looks like in terms of um services to the face, but we are anxiously waiting for the day that we can provide you some more clarity direction. I also want to take this time, like as David mentioned, that we do read all the comments, and I want to just, uh I was going through some of the comments right before we started, and I just want to, kind of give out some shout outs right here. So top fan Simon, so Simon we know you well here, and we really appreciate all the feedback and all you know constantly monitoring and staying with us. You did say that you did have a really good recommendation in terms o,f making a graph, adding a graph to our site that tracks the State's tiered system metrics, and where we land on that. I think that's a great idea. a whole pio team, actually that was one of the points of discussion today, and we'll be sharing that with our, with our epidemiologists and with our situation analysis team to see if that's something that we can get done. um Randy, Randy you asked if Dr Cody's going to speak. As you can see, um you, you asked for doctors, instead, you got lawyers. um But you know we work closely with the doctors. We have a large team of epidemiologists supporting the whole EOC operation and supporting Dr Cody, but I hear you. um I think you know what, we would love to have more doctors on I think that'll be really helpful for the conversation, so we're gonna take those feedback into account. You did also ask about transition from red to orange for the sea of San Francisco, and we were, David was able to touch on
that. um Let's see there was also, Lisa, you asked about what are the conditions by which the county returned to the purple tier? The two metrics we discussed today, at any time, if one of the two metrics lands into the purple tear range, we are back in the purple tier. So folks please continue to keep vigilant. um Now is not the time to ease up. We're gaining momentum, and let's keep it going. um Lyndon, you asked about playgrounds. Playgrounds are actually open, but just like anything else, that's currently open, uh during this time there are certain modifications and requirements. I recommend that you check out our County coronavirus website, www.sccgov.org/coronavirus for more specifics as to what, what you can expect, or what is expected of everybody at a playground. um So and then, of course, our estheticians, I, you know, Leanne, I hear you. We see you um like I said, uh esthetician and skincare services is something that's in every single topic, um every meeting that we're having, that we've been having, and we hope to see a day where we're able to have more, more, more details and more direction in that area. Thank you, everyone, for joining us. Thank you, David, for this morning.

DC: Thank you, everyone. Be safe out there. Have a good day!

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