06.12.20 COVID-19 Briefing Live Stream Transcript

The County of Santa Clara
June 12, 2020
Live Stream - Live with the County of Santa Clara
10am PT

Larry Little: Hi everybody and thank you for joining us. I'm Larry Little, Public Information Officer here at the Emergency Operations Center with the County of Santa Clara and Maribel Martinez is in the house today and in just a moment we're gonna be answering some of your questions regarding COVID-19 testing that's taking place around the county.

But first, let's bring you up to date on information from our COVID-19 data dashboard. As of yesterday, we have 3,063 confirmed cases in the county, Our thoughts are certainly with the families who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19 and we're wishing everyone a speedy recovery for everyone that's suffering from it or being affected by it at this time.

Also we want to let you know that we are removing our facial coverings Maribel is removing hers right now. I already removed mine prior to the start of this segment so that everyone, including our ASL American Sign Language interpreters could properly understand and communicate the information that we will be sharing this morning.

Maribel Martinez: So today, we're answering questions that we received from you, the public. The questions came through our social media platforms, our online FAQ portal, and through the call center.

We know that at times it may feel as though information is not getting out to you fast enough, but please rest assured that a staff at the Public Information team is working seven days a week to serve you. So let's jump into these questions.

LL: So if you could just start off by telling me about the different types of COVID-19 testing sites that we have here in the county.

MM: We have several testing sites now open in the County. Some them are drive-through sites, we have four of them throughout the County. We also have pop-up sites, meaning that they are in a space for a short amount of time and may move around through different locations.

Some of them are through a tent and some of them are through a fixed location that has been re-designed inside, like a gymnasium or a large multi-purpose room, that is now used as the testing site, and as well as our clinics and other health providers that continue to do the test at their regular locations.

LL: And what can people expect once they show up to one of these testing sites?

MM: That's a great question. I think oftentimes people are unsure what it will be like or what they'll see and we have a great video clip to show them exactly what the process might look like if they go to one of our community sites.

So when you arrive, you'll be greeted by a team member who will provide you with a clipboard and a pen which have been cleaned and disinfected ready for you to use. There'll be two forms to complete: One is demographic form which includes basic contact information so that you know how so that we know how to reach you to provide you a test result.

The other is a consent form which allows us to provide the COVID test to you. At the exit table we'll ask you to kindly complete a 4 question survey which will help us to improve our pop-up clinics. The forms are available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

The test is fast, easy, confidential, and it doesn't hurt. Our health professional will use a nasal swab that goes into each nostril for about 10 seconds and that's it. That's the entire test. On average, it takes about three days to get their results, but that depends on the site that you used, and you'll either get a phone call or an email letting you know of the results.

LL: Great. I know there's a misconception that it's painful and thankfully we see it on the video that did not look painful at all.

So, a lot of people are saying the hours don't work for me or I can't get off work and go. And I know one solution we have here at the County is to ask your manager if you can go and get tested. Also, we are expanding hours to include the evenings and on Saturdays and you can check our website regularly as we provide update information on new sites that will become available. And of course, we're getting new sites and testing centers all the time.

MM: That's right. Every week we are going to different locations and we decide these based on where is the biggest need, where we see some case numbers. That we feel it's important to go to the community to really make sure that the testing sites are accessible and of course that we're providing them in multiple languages for folks to be able to access them more easily.

LL: So one person, or a couple people, had questions about testing sites. How are you choosing where to place them? They actually said "I don't have one in my neighborhood."

MM: So we are working really closely with our community partners, nonprofits, other jurisdictions like cities, to find locations that work for the community that are easy to get to and that provide all of the components that are needed to have a successful community site.

So if there isn't one near you right now, we're working to get one close to you and of course all the other locations are also available. Many of them you do not need to make an appointment. Some of them you do and that's actually for you to get in and out a lot more quickly.

LL: And yes it is free. That was one of the questions: Is it actually free? Yes it is free.

And someone asks here: I try getting a test but my provider denied me with insurance so and also my health provider is still pushing back on testing because I do not have symptoms.

MM: I think initially we were experiencing some shortages of testing kits and we were prioritizing individuals who had symptoms. Now, we have a larger supply and we're encouraging everyone to get tested at least once.

But there are some groups that we are encouraging to get tested once a month and these are workers who interact with the public on a regular basis. Those could be construction workers, grocery workers, now retail workers. We want them to be tested once a month as well as those who are in a category of high exposure or who have other conditions and so those we recommend getting tested once a month.

LL: Another question: Are these tests done via drive-through or do folks have to get out of the car? How can we test workers rapidly? I know VMC has drive-through clinics where you don't have to leave your car and you can make an appointment to visit a drive-through site and making an appointment is fast the fastest way to get tested. And we actually have a testimonial from someone who actually visited one of the drive-through sites.

MM: Yes, we have a note here from Rick from within our County who wanted to share about his experience and he says: My wife and I went to the testing site in San Jose a couple of weeks ago. I was very impressed by the degree to which we were protected from any contact with the workers and especially from people being tested.

At no time were we exposed to anyone except through the crack of our windows. We all wore masks we were never asked to touch anything that had been touched by employees. The only thing we were handed a swab and the bag was delivered via a mechanical gripping tool. The entire experience was outside and in an open ventilated building.

After my experience at the testing site, I have no reservation about being tested again and for the benefits to everyone in the community who has or does not have COVID-19. I hope that everyone will take the opportunity to be tested.

LL: Oh that's great.

Another question: My nonprofit employer is making it mandatory to get tested every two weeks, and I would say to that that is a very good employer. They stated that it's falling in line with your recommendations, which that is falling in line with the recommendations. We are recommending that all frontline workers get tested monthly and every two weeks if need be and that's going to definitely help slow the spread.

Another question: There has been way too much confusion regarding who can get tested and whether the test is free or not. My question is can I go no matter what and get tested for free even if I have reason to believe I am not positive.

MM: Yeah so every test is free anywhere that you go, whether that's your provider or to a community site, it is free. They won't ask you for any kind of payment. If you are not symptomatic, you are welcome to use any of our community sites. You can make an appointment ahead of time through the website portal for testing or you can come as a walk-in for any of the other pop-up sites. Those are available to those who do not have symptoms but want to get tested.

For those who are exhibiting symptoms, we do recommend that you make an appointment with your medical provider. You talk to your doctor and get tested through that provider. If you don't have a provider, you can call our Valley Medical Center Valley Connection Line at the phone number that I will give you shortly. That is 1 800—let me find that really quick so I can give you the accurate information. I do have it jotted down here, yes. 1-888-334-1000 And that's again if you don't have a doctor, if you don't have a provider, but are exhibiting symptoms, that is the number to call. Valley Connection Line.

LL: And tell us again about the turnaround time on getting the results.

MM: Well on average, it takes about three days to get their results, but it will depend on where you got tested: If it was a drive-through site, if it was a community pop-up site, or if it was through your provider. But around that timeline is the average. And you'll either receive a phone call, if you went through a community site, or you might receive an email, you might also have to login to your provider portal to check your labs and results.

LL: And one person wrote: What if I test positive? Of course if you test positive you're going to be notified and that's when you want to go into self isolation and of course you'll reach out to your health care professional to give you recommendations on how you would proceed.

Also how can I find a testing location near my work or home? You can visit SCCFreeTest.org and all of the information regarding testing availability and sites here in the county will be on that website. This question says: Are you encouraging all community members to be tested?

MM: Yes, we're encouraging every community member to get tested at least once, and for those that have contact with the public, those are health care workers, frontline employees, first responders, grocery workers, but as well as those who attended say, a large gathering like a protest, who ride mass transit, have chronic health conditions, are sixty years or older, or experience symptoms, we want you to get tested. And for those health care workers and frontline workers, we want you to keep getting tested once a month.

LL: A question that came in to us on Facebook: Once tested, should I still follow protocol—all protocols? Can I be around other COVID-19 negative people?

Once you test negative, it is not a—it's not permission to party. You should still continue to practice social distancing, and always wear your face mask when you are in public, and wash your hands on a regular basis and this is going to help us slow the spread here in the County.

MM: That's absolutely true because every time we interact with people, that is a risk of exposure. We can minimize it by all the social distancing protocols and guidelines, but every single day could be an opportunity for you to ensure that you're keeping safe by practicing those protocols and keeping your distance.

LL: So we covered a lot of questions here today. I'm sure people still have plenty of other questions. Any closing thoughts?

MM: Yes, we definitely want to thank everybody out there who has been keeping the social distancing protocols. We also want to thank people who have been asking questions through our social media portals, calling in through our call center, and through the FAQ website. Those questions are important we are working on responses for you.

Thank you so much for what you're doing and know that testing is again, one of the ways in which we can slow the spread of COVID-19 and there are many others through our social distancing protocols.

LL: Maribel Martinez, it's always a pleasure.

MM: Thank you Larry. Thanks for being here today. Again if you need information, more information about testing, please visit SCCFreeTests.org and for all things COVID related you want to visit sccgov.org/coronavirus and use the search function to find information.

Also we have an FAQ team and a call center team here answering all of your questions. Now I know some of you want to get the breaking news on when the salon is going to open, they don't have that information. The information they are relaying to you comes from information that has already been passed through some of the orders that we've issued and you can find that information on sccgov.org/coronavirus.

Remember we are still sheltering in place throughout the weekend, and practicing social distancing, and wearing a face mask because we want the numbers to go down. We discussed in our—this morning—that we did see some of the trends of the numbers going up and last night I was looking at it and I want to know, I want people to know, that the groups with the highest numbers—the age category was from 21 to 70 years old so that pretty much covers all of us.

So continue practicing the protocols and that's definitely going to slow the spread in the County and we will get back to some sense of being normal.

Thanks for watching everyone have a safe weekend and we will see you next time.