07.17.20 COVID-19 Briefing Live Stream Transcript

The County of Santa Clara
July 17, 2020
Live Stream - Briefing Live stream
10:00am PT

Larry Little: Good morning and thank you for joining us everybody my name is Larry little I'm the public information officer here at the County Emergency Operations Center I'm also the managing editor of the Facebook live segments that you see here in English and the reason I tell you that is from time to time you will see me in the comments. Also, I want to let you know that safety is a priority for us here at the EOC not only at the EOC but also in this studio. During the broadcast we remove our facemask so everyone can properly understand what we are communicating but I want to let you know when we come into the building we have to go through a nurse's station they check our temperature I've never had my temperature check so much in my entire life to make sure that everyone is ok we also advise people to stay at home if you feel sick our production team also takes time to mark spaces within this studio to make sure that we are six feet or more apart another thing we do as well as we get tested on a regular basis because of the work that we are doing everyone in this studio was tested this week and we are negative of course but there are times when we make mistakes and we do get a little bit too close because this is like home we're here more than we are at home but we are made aware of those mistakes and we correct it but you know we also have loved ones and our part of this community as well and we want to slow the spread of COVID thought I should address it since some of you have expressed concerns about us having to face mask off while we're in the studio or if we are actually 6 feet apart.

All right today we're going to be answering some of your questions that have come in to us via Facebook to our FAQ team as well as to the call center and Todd is here this morning because he has all of the answers all the time Todd it has been a roller coaster of a week the county was to go into a certain phase and of course I want to explain that to people as well this is how it works with mandates  it's the state the county the city so I know a lot of people believe that Dr. Cody was responsible for making the changes that took place on Wednesday and that is not the case as well Dr. Cody does not wake up in the morning and say bye to her family and and and comes to work with all of its power and says I I want to close every place that puts pickles on their burgers that's just not how it happens no one benefits from that in the county when things are closed it creates a deficit in your pockets as well as in the county's pockets as well as a city so a lot of changes people have a lot of questions.

Todd Naffziger: Yes

LL: We're gonna answer some of those today and then we will get to the data dashboard in just a moment thanks for being here Todd any time so our first question that came to us it says our bars and breweries supposed to remain closed at this time.

TF: So, this is a question we'd be getting a lot of because there's a lot of confusion between the state and there's just been a general confusion this week with what the state's announcement was and what we  were pushing out so I mean it's it's completely understandable that our community is a little bit miss a little confused so with bars breweries brew pubs and pubs they would be allowed to  operate outdoors as long as they're providing food service which include means a meal and that meal and alcohol purchase needs to be on the same receipt if it's not on the same receipt they would not be allowed to operate at that time so they would have to ensure that that meal and that beverage falls under the same receipt and they can do catering they can do a food truck if need be to provide that service as well.

LL: That's a good opportunity to team to team up for businesses

TN: Absolutely

LL: All right now next question says are contractors that have their main offices outside of the County required to submit a social distancing protocol.

TF: Yeah we we have a huge influx of contractors and construction companies emailing us right now but if you're a contracting business outside of the county and you're subcontracting to a general contractor here for a job site you would still needed to submit a social distancing protocol and provide that social distancing protocol to the general contractor who will also have their own social dissing protocol to manage that site so the intention is is that the subcontractor  will have their protocol and the general contract will have their protocol but the socializing protocol for the site will be all-encompassing and it'll include characteristics of those subcontractors coming in as well.

LL: And they can always contact us if they have any questions

TN: Absolutely they can contact our business line and thank you for bringing that up we have people staffing our phones five days a week typically we'll be there over the weekend this weekend again to help out with our community and they can call us a four oh eight nine six one five five zero zero

LL:  Question are camps for children still allow to resume?

TN: Yes, parents can continue to send their kids to camp especially those camps that  are outdoors they would still need to continue to follow our guidance that we provided on our website which is including you know pods of 12 making sure that they're in that that pod for for that three-week period of time before they move on to another group indoor camps are still allowed but with the governor's directive that excuse me announced what they came down earlier in the week those type of camps that are taking place in say a fitness facility or a gym  there's still some confusion about that and our our illustrious County Council team is reaching out to the state currently to make sure that we're clear on how those type of camps would be allowed to resume for the future

LL: You know that's one thing about this County I've lived in a lot of counties I'm not gonna mention them because I may have to go there and work at some point but this County does a great job of taking care of the people and I don't say it because I work here but as soon as the the governor made the announcement someone was coming from across the street at our EOC they're saying well can this business do this and open so we are working very diligently trying to get businesses to be reopened here this question says our gyms completely closed that made me sad

TN: Obviously

LL: Can they operate outside

TN: Great question I as you are looking forward to going back to the gym gyms for indoor operations would not be allowed to operate at this time the state as well as our directives allow for gyms to continue their activities outdoors so the minute they move that operation outdoors they would need to follow our guidance for fitness and gyms as well as the guidance for outdoor gatherings because if you can't have more than 60 people you need to ensure that people are wearing face covering still and you want to make sure there's still six feet apart at all times so it's kind of an amalgamation of two different guidances at that point because if you are bringing out equipment to utilize with your trainings and group activities they need to make sure they're sanitized before uses and so forth so they need to make sure they're following both guidance

LL: Are outdoor gathering still allow?

TN: So, as of Monday when the announcements made from the state the only outdoor gatherings that would be currently allowed are those for cultural or religious ceremonies or for protests the one person per household doesn't necessarily apply anymore due to the state's announcement once we once our cases get better we may default back to that but as of right now the state has States announcement doesn't allow for outdoor gatherings outside of those two spectrums.

LL: All right our home-based business is required to submit a social distancing protocol form?

TN: Yes, so if you have a home-based business where you all have customers potentially  coming to your home or employees that are potentially coming to your home you would need to submit a social distancing protocol through our website but if you're just a home-based business where you have no interaction with the public or anyone else employee or otherwise you would not necessarily need to submit a social distancing protocol at this time so but those again who have employees or would be required to submit a social testing protocol absolutely.

LL: I'm looking at the comments here and it says oh boy it looks like he just got a hair cut a day ago.

TN: No

LL: And and you know I I did get a haircut but you know the salons open the hair salons and nail salons they open for for two days I was actually on the phone with my barber and I said I said your vacation is over and we were joking in just within a few seconds I heard the air go out of the room because the governor made the announcement that they had to close again so we are very connected with the industry we have friends that own salons and we understand that they're going through a very difficult time right now we're going to talk about risk reduction in just a moment but let's take a look at the data dashboard we have in the county as of yesterday a cumulative cases 7,046 cases 176 deaths three of those new deaths and definitely our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19 here we are seeing a spike as you can see in the numbers it's just it's it's been going up and with with some businesses even being closed we're seeing a spike in the numbers here and we have to get those down I see your questions about the hospital yes the hospital numbers are going up but what we should focus on is getting the overall numbers down in the county and slowing the spread and that's going to help us return to somewhat of a normal state and yes the county did appear well does appear on a list that came out that required several of those businesses to be closed but the way you get off that list I don't know this for sure but I'm it's math it's you slow the spread in your county and the hospitalization rates are going to go down as well as well as the deaths let's talk about risk reduction because that's the phase we were expected to move in but people should be doing anyway because it's definitely going to slow the spread and just talk about risk reduction for a moment.

TN: Absolutely and I think Dr. Cody did a very great job earlier on this week of of really providing a message to our community of personal accountability and responsibility because we went from a SIP the shelter-in-place kind of model to transitioning into the risk reduction and that really really really emphasizes the responsibility of the individuals to continue to follow the social distancing requirements you know we have we have a post that came up early this week on social media that over 65% of our cases are coming from community transmission well how do we stop that community transmission we said we stopped it by wearing our face coverings when we're not at home we stopped it by not congregating with people outside of our household we stopped it by maintaining that six-feet when we're out buying groceries or getting those goods that we need in order to work from home or survive and so forth and conversely it's really the responsibility of the businesses as well to make sure that they're strictly adhering to their social distancing protocols which are making sure people are wearing their face coverings that are required to wear their face coverings we obviously know we have exemptions for those who medically can't wear one or for those who are under the age of two making sure that the six-feet is still adhere to and making sure that those high-touch services are still sanitized regularly so risk reduction really kind of focuses in on the personal accountability of the individuals we have in this county and to make sure that people aren't going out there and congregating and partying with people outside of their household you know make sure that you follow the rules and that's how we slow the spread the faster we slow the spread the faster we're back to a some type of normalcy or way of life we had before.

LL: And I told you I'm in the comment someone says how come you two aren't wearing face masks of course I explained that in the beginning of the program that we remove our face mask so everyone can clearly understand the word the information that we're sharing I was born and raised in Arkansas so my pronunciation may not be familiar to you so if I'm muffled with my mask on you may not understand but trust me I have them I actually you know I'm at a age where I forget things so I actually have two and I put them on right when we're done with this broadcast and you know it's very important you know I his well that Todd and I tested on was it the fourteenth

TN: About four days ago.

LL: And here are the results here Todd is negative I'm negative we wear face coverings all day while we're here at the EOC we're more than six feet apart but it's very important to get tested to know your status as well and I was tested the other day and I'm a baby and this is probably too much information but my nose has been very dry for the entire week but I still got tested and just take a look at the video here

TN: Oh my lord

LL: It does not hurt at all and she had a heavy hand like a box or something like that or somebody's been going to the gym but it's a very simple process it takes at most about 30 seconds not painful

TN: Is that a tear in your eye Larry

LL: At all my tear ducts don't even work anymore let's see if we have some more questions here so the governor is supposed to make another announcement this week or maybe


TN: So, our understanding is that the governor is gonna be making an announcement today we believe it's gonna be focused more on schools and and how they will be allowed to operate in the fall but typically with the state we'll know what the state has to say when the when the state has to say it.

LL: Right and I know a lot of times people are saying when we do these broadcasts they say that's not the information I'm looking for when information comes from the state or directives change we let you know as soon as possible trust me we let you know anything else to add I don't think we have any more pressing questions of course I'll be in the comments to answer what I can


TN: Absolutely I think you bring up a good point about information and the best way our community can continue to stay informed is sign up for our newsletter on our public health website please continue to monitor our social media accounts they are on Instagram Facebook Twitter we post a lot we provide a lot of information people want to know how fast and how quickly we disseminate information social media and our obviously our press releases and so forth we do we use every avenue we possibly can and make sure our community is informed so if you're not informed I don't have to tell you you


LL: Well we know everyone's not on social media so we rely on you who are watching to be an influencer one by you know telling people why we should be doing the things to slow the spread in the county but as well share this information with them we understand everyone is not on Facebook or YouTube so

TN: Absolutely

LL: So, yeah all right well that's it En vivo con el condado de Santa Clara comienza a las once  aqui mismo. How did I do TN: All right

LL: Yeah I'm practicing anyway Facebook live in Spanish comes up at 11:00 we hope you will join us for that I'll be safe everyone have a great weekend we hope these numbers will go down and we hope the salons will open because I love my haircut so.

TN: I need one.

LL: Stay safe have a good weekend.