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SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020 • SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA • PRESSDEMOCRAT.COM
SONOMA COUNTY » CONTACT TRACING
Virus detectives keep
pandemic in check
Sonoma County Public Health nurse Katy Jenkins swabs a Sonoma County resident on Wednesday as part of the coronavirus tracing program.
Public health workers dig deep to track down possible COVID-19 cases
By MARTIN ESPINOZA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A
team of Sonoma County public
health nurses wear face masks, face
shields, blue gowns, gloves and shoe
covers, waiting for a caravan of cars, SUVs
and pickups to start driving into a narrow
downtown Santa Rosa parking lot.
One afternoon last week, the people
who arrived in the vehicles, often families
and couples, appeared a little bewildered.
Many, however, are thankful to get a break
from home quarantine, eager to speak to
someone in person, someone who under-
stands what they’re enduring.
This is not just any Monday through
Friday drive-thru county testing site to
detect the new coronavirus. The people
in these vehicles are unique. They are
our friends, neighbors and co-workers,
but there’s a great probability they have
COVID-19 because of their close contacts
with others infected. Public health officials
say identifying, testing and monitoring
TURN TO DETECTIVES » PAGE A13
Financial
challenges
mount for
residents
1 in every 10 workers in
Sonoma County filed for
unemployment last month
By ETHAN VARIAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Michael Hunter saw the layoffs com-
ing. So a few weeks before the winery
cook and the rest of the hourly staff at
Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma were let
go last month, he took a close look at his
budget.
Hunter found he spends about $1,000
— close to half his monthly income — on
fixed expenses including rent, auto in-
surance and car payments. He also iden-
Advice T5 Community B8 LeBaron T1
Business E1 Crossword T5 Lotto A2
Classified C5 Forum B9 Nevius C1
Sonoma County Public Health nurses Katy Jenkins, from left, Maggie Wideau, Sylvia Brown and
Jacob Soled work Wednesday to swab a carload of Sonoma County residents in Santa Rosa.
Michael Hunter was laid from his job as a winery cook at Ram’s Gate Winery. Hunter found
ways to cut back by ending streaming services and being mindful of spending.
tified the things he could live without,
including his Amazon Prime and Netflix
DVD subscriptions, which he canceled af-
ter getting laid off.
Facing the possibility of months with-
out work, he’s drastically cut back his
spending.
Obituaries B4 PRIORITIES DURING PANDEMIC: Democrats
State news A7 shift focus to confront President Trump over
Sonoma Life D1 his handling of the coronavirus. / B1
NORTH BAY SPIRIT AWARD » Couple
set up farm to help fight hunger. D1
WINNER OF THE 2018 PULITZER PRIZE
PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
“I remind myself not to buy anything
extravagant when I go shopping,” he
said. “And I don’t drive anywhere unless
absolutely necessary, to save on gas.”
As Sonoma County residents grapple
TURN TO FINANCIAL » PAGE A15
SANTA ROSA
High 79, Low 48
THE WEATHER, C6
Sundari Mase
No easy
choices
facing
county
STAY-HOME ORDER »
Limits on activity set
to be loosened, extended
By JULIE JOHNSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
As Sonoma County enters
its sixth week of restrictions
on public activity to slow the
spread of the coronavirus, coun-
ty Health Officer Dr. Sundari
Mase faces a critical decision:
How much will she relax the
stay-home order that she has al-
ready signaled will be renewed
before it expires Friday?
Various proposals were circu-
lating last week through county
offices, where Mase was widely
expected to ap-
prove revisions INSIDE
that would ■ County budget
restore some cuts may be less
public access severe than 2008
to local parks recession / A3
and allow a
wider range
■ Governors
of construc-
prepare to reopen
tion projects
and relax state
and real estate
restrictions / B1
transactions to ■ Local builders
resume. reexamine future
But the ma- during economic
jority of re- uncertainty / E1
strictions will
remain in place. The directive to
stay home, apart from essential
business or errands, and to wear
masks in public settings will be
extended to continue preventing
the coronavirus from spreading
widely within the community,
Mase said.
She did not say how long these
orders must stay in place but
noted the state directive is in-
definite and the county aims to
align local rules with those set
by California public health offi-
cials and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“We’re under an executive or-
der from our governor,” Mase
said. “Regardless of what hap-
pens, the governor needs to be
the one to lift shelter-in-place.”
Local leaders have been
urging Mase to ease restric-
tions where she can. Fielding a
TURN TO ORDERS » PAGE A2
Local businesses
adapt, innovate
to stay afloat
By AUSTIN MURPHY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Regina Rolland was going the extra
mile.
Actually, by driving a shipment of
s’mores bars, chocolate-dipped Oreos
and sea salt caramels 35 miles from her
Kenwood store to a customer in Vallejo,
she was going 15 miles beyond her usual
delivery area.
Extraordinary times call for extraor-
dinary measures. When you’ve had to
switch your business overnight from
99% walk-in customers to 100% online
orders, when you’re fighting for your
livelihood, you’re willing to drive out of
your way.
“Traffic wasn’t bad at all,” said
Rolland, the relentlessly optimistic
owner of Wine Truffle Boutique choc-
olate and gelato bar, inside VJB Vine-
yard and Cellars. “I cruised down and
TURN TO INNOVATE » PAGE A14
©2020
The Press
Democrat
A2
Researchers go to SF’s Mission District
Experts to test residents,
looking for antibodies to
determine virus exposure
By LEONARDO CASTAÑEDA
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
SAN FRANCISCO — Doctors
and volunteers fanned out ear-
ly Saturday morning to pop-up
testing centers in the city’s heav-
ily Latino Mission District for
an unprecedented effort to test
all 5,700 residents in one census
tract in hopes the data collected
will help explain why Latinos and
African Americans have been dy-
ing at disproportionate rates from
COVID-19.
The four-day campaign mirrors
a similar push to test everyone in
Bolinas, a remote town in Marin
County with nearly 2,000  res-
idents. Both efforts are being
carried out by infectious disease
researchers from UC San Fran-
cisco. In the Mission, residents
will take a nasal swab test for
COVID-19, as well as a blood test
looking for antibodies, a tell-tale
sign that someone had previously
been exposed to coronavirus.
Jon Jacobo, a member of the
city’s Latino Task Force for
COVID-19, said he’s hoping this
research will show just how wide-
ORDERS
CONTINUED FROM A1
––– barrage of concerns
from residents, some coun-
ty supervisors want Mase
to allow some people to
return to their jobs and
businesses to resume op-
erations in order to lessen
some of the financial hard-
ship falling on thousands.
Sonoma County Super-
visor David Rabbitt said
he believes local business-
es are highly motivated to
institute new protective
physical distancing mea-
sures in order to operate
We are in this
together, and together
we can get through
anything!
Don!t
Forget!
Wash your hands frequently.
Maintain social distancing.
Avoid touching your face.
If you have a fever, cough or
difficulty breathing, seek
medical care early.
Stay informed.
Support Groups postponed until further notice.
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spread the virus has been in the
community.
“I know many people that are
certain they had it, they lose
the sense of smell, they lose the
sense of taste, but they’re told to
stay home,” Jacobo said. “This is
kind of our proof to say, hey, we
need help.”
About 43% of COVID-19 deaths
and 32% of cases in California
have been from Latino patients,
who make up 39% of the popula-
tion. Black patients make up 7%
of deaths and 11% of cases, high-
er than their 6% share of the pop-
ulation. But those numbers hide
the true extent of the spread of
the virus among communities of
color, in part because the Latino
population is relatively young.
Among people 18 to 49 years
old, Latinos make up 66% of
deaths and 44% of the population,
and black residents are 15% of
deaths and 6% of the population.
Similar patterns hold in Bay Area
counties that have released demo-
graphic data among COVID-19 pa-
tients and deaths. In Santa Clara
County, for example, Latinos
make up 33% of deaths and 27%
of the population, while black res-
idents make up 6% of deaths and
2% of the population.
Jacobo said he wasn’t shocked
to see those statistics, tying it to
“Ultimately it is on her shoulders. If there’s
a decision to be made, it will be made by her.”
DAVID RABBITT, Sonoma County supervisor, on Dr. Sundari Mase considering changing stay-at-home orders
again, and the county
should prioritize financial
recovery over recreation in
risk-benefit analyses.
“I’d err on the side of giv-
ing people the opportunity
to earn a paycheck before
getting the opportunity to
get fresh air in a park, and
that’s not saying that parks
aren’t important,” Rabbitt
said.
California’s sweeping
isolation order supersedes
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020
a history of underinvestment in distrust of government, the oth- 25 years, was also getting tested at
health care for communities of er is fear of immigration conse- the Parque Niños Unidos testing
color. Many residents in the Mis- quences,” Ronen said, pointing center with his wife and son. He
sion District are also working in at an effort by the Trump admin- saw getting tested as part of his
essential jobs like grocery stores istration to ban any immigrants civic duty.
and to-go restaurants, or are un- who receive public assistance “We’re happy to volunteer
documented and aren’t eligible from applying for permanent res- because the medical health pro-
for federal stimulus money. idence. “That has caused a real fessionals and the scientists are
“The frank reality is that there reluctance from this community lacking informed data,” said
are many in our community who to accept assistance.” Martinez, who works in financial
are still working and don’t have So far, Ronen said, 3,000 people services. “Data is required for a
the luxury of not working,” he had registered online to partic- proper risk assessment.”
said. A recent study from the Eco- ipate in the testing. She’s hop- Within 72 hours, Martinez and
nomic Roundtable found Latinos ing more will show up in person Juarez will get their COVID-19
were at the highest risk of unem- throughout the four days, partic- test results. Anyone who tests
ployment because of the corona- ularly residents without internet positive will be contacted and
virus crisis. access. community agencies are work-
To help address those health Among those getting test- ing to provide support services,
disparities, volunteers have been ed Saturday was Paola Juarez, which could include hotel rooms
going door-to-door and putting who works in janitorial services to help individuals self-isolate if
up posters in the roughly four- and has lived in the Mission for they live in a house or apartment
block by seven-block census tract 15 years. She said she wanted to where that’s not possible other-
between South Van Ness Avenue get tested because she knows the wise, Ronen said. Organizers also
and Harrison Street, and Cesar Mission is a hotspot for coronavi- hope to provide supplies like food,
Chavez and 23rd Street. In one rus. masks, and sanitizer for anyone
building, Jacobo said, volunteers “Better to be well-informed and who tests positive. Within two to
were able to go from three regis- know you don’t have it, for the three weeks, participants will get
tered participants to signing up health of the family,” she said, the results on their antibody test
residents in 25 apartments. adding she hadn’t felt any symp- for previous exposure.
Despite being one of the hard- toms that might indicate she had Martinez hopes whatever they
est hits census tracts in the city, the virus. She said the test itself find will help the U.S. catch up
Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who was quick, about 10 minutes for a on what he saw as bad planning
represents the area, said many small prick for blood and a nose and decision-making nationally
residents are reluctant to partic- swab which she said was a little around testing, which many ex-
ipate, particularly if they are im- uncomfortable but not too bad. perts have said has long been in-
migrants. Anzel Martinez, who has adequate to the scale of the pan-
“One of the biggest barriers is lived in the Mission District for demic.
didn’t account for how dras-
tically California’s stay-
home directives would limit
the spread of COVID-19,
Mase said. These models ar-
en’t designed to inform the
public about what might oc-
any county public health But the financial toll vaccine, it’s going to be cur, but rather are intended
rule, meaning local juris- has been swift and brutal months and months — we to provide the county and
dictions can add restric- in California, where more need to know how to sur- hospitals with some data to
tions but cannot loosen than a half-million resi- vive,” Rabbitt said. prepare for worst-case sce-
them compared to the dents filed unemployment The decisions are out of narios.
state’s order. claims just last week, more their hands at a time when “When they’re ready to
While the county is ex- than any other state. All public health officers hold give us very accurate mod-
pected to allow access to told, 1 in 6 Californians ultimate authority, pow- els, I want them,” Mase
local parks, it cannot open have lost jobs, according to ers that allow them to take said. “I don’t want them
up Trione-Annadel, Arm- state figures. drastic measures such as before that because it’s
strong Redwoods, Jack County supervisors are seizing property. hard to make sense of data
London or the Sonoma hearing complaints from That dynamic causes that’s not fully analyzed
Coast among the 11 state all corners of the commu- some tension but ulti- and vetted.”
parks closed to the public. nity, including local resi- mately provides “checks While Mase is expect-
Sonoma County’s public dents concerned about los- and balances” on the com- ed to relax some elements
health order puts great- ing their jobs to business peting interests of public of her stay-home order
er limits than the state on
some business sectors,
owners questioning why
they cannot safely operate
health concerns and finan-
cial stability, Rabbit said.
in the coming days, she is
nowhere close to lifting it
such as only allowing con-
struction for affordable
while others can.
Some restrictions have
“Ultimately it is on her
shoulders. If there’s a de-
entirely.
The county, and the state,
housing projects or wild-
fire rebuilds. But Mase
been difficult to defend.
“I’ve struggled to explain
cision to be made, it will
be made by her,” Rabbitt
must have the ability to im-
plement a series of public
said that most businesses
are closed due to the gov-
why it’s OK for someone to
work on a multimillion-
said of Mase. “And it’s not
always the decision the
health measures aimed at
slowing the spread of the
ernor’s order “so there’s dollar expansion that’s a board would like to hear.” virus and swiftly address-
nothing we can do for over (fire) rebuild while some- As of Saturday evening, ing outbreaks before life in
95% of business facilities.” one working on a granny 218 people in Sonoma California can resume any
Newsom announced the unit is not allowed to go County had tested positive degree of normalcy.
first iteration of the state’s forward,” Sonoma County for COVID-19, about 4% of Newsom’s “six indica-
stay-home rule on March Supervisor Lynda Hopkins the 5,287 people tested for tors” include widespread
19, one day after Sonoma said. “We need all kinds of the disease since the first testing, programs to mon-
County’s first public health housing.” case was detected March 2, itor and track COVID-19
stay-home order went into Other North Coast coun- according to local data. cases, protect high-risk
effect and three days after ties with lower numbers of and vulnerable residents
six Bay Area counties be- people testing positive for Unanswered questions from infection, expand
came the first to shut down COVID-19 have begun re- Mase said that pub- hospital capacity, develop
public life. laxing their rules. lic health investigations therapeutics, implement
ly
The directive has sharp-
limited commerce,
Lake, Napa and Mendoci-
no counties all have eased
into recent increases in
the numbers, including a
physical distancing mea-
sures at schools, restau-
closed schools and isolated limits on some aspects of 22-person jump Thursday, rants and other businesses
millions from friends and recreation, such as golfing, showed little evidence the — measures that will take
family. hiking and jogging. Con- virus is circulating widely months to implement.
Epidemiologists have struction and pet groomers in the community. Instead, The state and counties
credited these measures can resume in Lake County. people had contracted the must also have plans in
for dramatically decreas-
ing the spread of the novel
Drive-in religious services
can take place in Mendoci-
disease from contact with
those already known to be
place to restore restric-
tions if cases surge.
coronavirus in California no County. infectious. Mase has said she has lit-
and so far preventing the Hopkins and Rabbitt Two central questions tle leeway to relax restric-
type of devastating surge both mentioned mobile pet remain unanswered: When tions on business opera-
that has overwhelmed hos- grooming and flower deliv- will the pandemic peak in tions further but intends
pitals in places like New ery services as examples Sonoma County? And how to do so where she can and
York City. of the kinds of businesses bad will it be? where she can be sure busi-
that require little interac- The county expects to nesses can operate safely.
California and the virus tion between people and receive soon new results When asked if she felt
Since the first cases shouldn’t be hampered from computer modeling pressure from business or
were detected in February, from operating. that attempt to answer political interests, Mase
1,562 Californians have Rabbitt pointed out that those questions. shrugged off the notion.
died from complications flower delivery supports A previous model done for “We’re looking at it in a
of COVID-19, the disease farmers, florists and driv- Sonoma County by Imperi- very evidence-based way,”
caused by the novel coro- ers and said he wants the al College London predicted Mase said.
navirus, including two county to focus on allow- a surge of infections would
Sonoma County residents. ing people to support them- hit the county between You can reach Staff Writer
More than 5,100 people selves during a time of in- May 29 and June 2, sending Julie Johnson at 707-521-
tense uncertainty.
have died from the respi- about 1,500 people to hos- 5220 or julie.johnson@
ratory disease in New York “If we’re going to be in pitals at its peak. However, pressdemocrat.com. On
City alone. this mode until there’s a that model, among others, Twitter @jjpressdem.
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020 A13

DETECTIVES firefighters race to the fire

CONTINUED FROM A1
these high-risk individuals
are crucial steps to control
the spread of the infec-
tious disease around the
county.
This is the essence of
contact tracing, arguably
the most important tool
deployed by the county’s
team of more than 60 pub-
lic health nurses, inves-
tigators, epidemiologists
and volunteer doctors and
nurses doing the detective
work to stop or at least
slow the virus outbreak.
It involves long hours
of sleuthing as the team
painstakingly tracks
a complex web of vi-
ral transmission, from
co-worker to co-worker,
wife to husband, parent to
child. It requires medical
professionals to be nimble,
chase leads and quickly
gain people’s trust — as
the health and economic
well-being of the county
hangs in the balance.
“I don’t know how we’d
be able to accomplish the
really difficult, rigorous
task of contact tracing
without all these people,”
said Dr. Sundari Mase,
the county’s public health
officer who is leading the
critical testing regimen and county public health offi-
the entire local offensive to cials have tested who live in
protect the county from the
invisible viral enemy.
Already quarantined
at home, the people who
pulled up in their cars one
afternoon last week to be
tested seemed to appreci-
ate the parking lot inter-
action with the county’s
public health investigators
and nurses.
“It’s not just let me grab virus from an unknown
a specimen. It’s how are
you doing? People actually
like the connection,” said
Julianne Ballard, one of
the lead public health
nurses on the front lines of because public health offi-
the local fight against the
highly contagious virus.
Ballard said halting
community transmission
of COVID-19 involves
much more than simply
ordering self-isolation or
collecting a test specimen
from a person with a great-
er chance of contracting it. of COVID-19, the largest
“Sometimes there’s
difficulty getting food to
the home, and sometimes
people are frightened about
what may happen next,”
she said. “We’re here to
help support people in this
very challenging situation.”
Suppressing outbreak
County health officials
say the stay-at-home order of having the virus, the
in place since March 18,
related social distanc-
ing measures and other
restrictions related to the
coronoavirus pandemic
have helped avoid dooms-
lines to stop advancing
flames. Their tools are fire
hoses, bulldozers, axes
and shovels that can be
complemented by an aerial
onslaught.
Against the COVID-19
outbreak, a slower-moving,
mostly invisible threat, the
comparable boots on the
ground are public health
nurses, armed with lists
of names and addresses of
contacts of others poten-
tially infected. It’s work
that’s no less urgent or
vital than that of a police
detective or firefighter.
Contact tracing
The county began
drive-thru testing for its
contact tracing program
nearly three weeks ago,
Ballard said. The testing is
conducted by appointment
only and involves only
those who have been in
close contact with people
who have tested positive
for the coronavirus.
Contact tracing has been
a highly effective way of
finding new COVID-19
cases, Ballard said. As of
Wednesday, roughly 30%
of all the people who have
been tested at a contact
tracing drive-thru came
back positive, she said. By
comparison, she said less
than 0.5% of all the people
group settings like nursing
homes, the county jail,
homeless shelters, among
others, have been positive.
While contact tracing
has been snagging cases,
local public health officials
say they are finding very
few cases — 36 overall as
of Saturday — in which
people contracted the
source, known as commu-
nity spread. Although just
17% of total local cases,
that’s the most worrisome
group of residents stricken
cials don’t know how they
were exposed to the virus.
“It’s a good sign that
we’re finding our cases
amongst our contacts,”
Mase said.
For example, on Thurs-
day, the county reported
22 new confirmed cases
daily increase since the
county confirmed its first
local case March 2. Health
officials said Friday 20
of those cases surfaced
through the county’s con-
tact tracing work.
Cases identified through
contact tracing have been
“targeted,” because those
people were at high risk
county’s health officer said
Friday during her daily
press briefing.
“We’re testing them pro-
actively before even some
of them are getting sick. In
Sonoma County Public Health nurses Maggie Wideau, from left, Jacob Soled, Sylvia Brown and Katy Jenkins take a break
from the Wednesday heat during a drive up coronavirus testing and tracing clinic in Santa Rosa.
has another three public
health nurses working with
homeless people.
Ballard, who normally
works as a supervisor for
public health’s high-risk
pregnancy field nursing
team, is among the depart-
ment’s nurses on loan to
the disease control team.
Mary Miller, nursing
services director for public
health, said a host of vol-
unteers that include local
physicians, nurses and
members of the Medical
Reserve Corps brings to
61 the number of people
working on contact tracing
for the coronavirus.
Miller, who previously
supervised the disease con-
trol team for 20 years, said
she’s seen a lot of emergent
diseases.
“If you think about all of
the emerging diseases just
since I’ve been here, West
Nile Virus, Zika, H1N1
(swine flu) — all of those
have a component of what
we are doing now,” said
Miller, adding that pub-
lic health staff also have
honed their skills chasing
outbreaks of tuberculosis,
syphilis and other sexually
transmitted diseases.
“We’re doing the same
work and we’re committed
to doing that work,” Miller
said of the team’s detective
work to track the local
outbreak of COVID-19.
Daily case analysis
The county’s shelter-in-
place directive and related
public health restrictions
have greatly limited move-
ment of the virus, local
health officials said.
Lucinda Gardner, an
epidemiologist with the
disease control team, said
after the order went into ef-
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
to figure out how COVID-19 week she hopes to increase health nurses, she said.
is moving through the testing to between 600 and Prior to the arrival of
community. It’s a tedious 800 tests daily countywide COVID-19 last month,
task that arms the public over the next few weeks. the public health division
health nurses and volun- Currently, there are be- had been losing staff and
teer phone workers with tween 150 to 200 tests a day there was even discus-
the information they need conducted by the county sion about getting rid of
to identify each piece of public health lab, commer- the public health lab on
what amounts to a large cial laboratories, commu- Chanate Road and creating
and complex puzzle. nity clinics and hospitals. a regional lab with other
Gardner said the work Sonoma County Su- counties.
they do would not be pos- pervisor Shirlee Zane, a That would have been a
sible without the collabo- strong supporter of county mistake, Zane said.
ration of “contacts” in the health services, said public Ballard, one of the
community who are willing health nurses are our first county’s lead public health
to share information. responders in the local nurses, said each connec-
“It takes so much in- fight against the COVID-19 tion made through contact
formation to understand pandemic. She said we’re tracing of the elusive coro-
what’s happening and syn- going to need more of navirus ultimately affects
thesize what’s going on and them. the entire community.
allow us to do the work that “If I had my magic For a public health nurse,
we do, to share the summa- wand, I’d hire twice as the patient is the whole
rized data with leadership many of them,” Zane said. community, but the ability
and with the public, so “If you triple the amount to connect with people and
everyone understands how of testing, you’re then build relationships are no
this (coronavirus) is mov- going to triple the amount less important than they
ing through our communi- of cases that you need to are for a nurse working in
ty,” Gardner said. trace.” a hospital.
Zane said expanded test- “In public health, the
Enhanced testing ing is likely to find many patient is all of you,” she
Saturday’s start of more people who have the said.
expanded testing is going virus, but are showing
to create more work for the no symptoms and can You can reach Staff Writer
disease control team as ad- unknowingly spread the Martin Espinoza at 707-
ditional positive cases are virus. Reaching out to them 521-5213 or martin.espino-
identified. Mase said last will require more public za@pressdemocrat.com.

We’re in this together.

day scenarios predicted by fact, we’ve had many as- fect March 18 most people
early computer modeling ymptomatic contacts who who contracted the virus
of area cases. also (test positive),” she through a close contact got
That modeling for Sono- said, adding that infected it at home or at work. The
ma County provided by residents classified as com- majority of the county’s
Imperial College London munity transmission cases confirmed virus cases are
suggested up to 1,500 res- are harder to address. centered in the county’s
idents at one time would “If we had somebody in denser central commu-
be hospitalized when virus the community who devel- nities of Santa Rosa and
infections peaked in early oped COVID and we had no Rohnert Park/Cotati.
June. Another batch of idea where it came from, Gardner’s day usually
modeling projections, which that’s when we’re won- starts with a 7 a.m. phone
take into account dramatic dering, OK, it’s out in the call to update the team. By
effects the unprecedented community and it’s out of 8 a.m., she’s at the county
local public health emergen- control. We’re not in control public health offices on Fifth
cy directive that closed most of it,” Mase said. “So that’s Street in downtown Santa
businesses and schools, why it’s really good we’re Rosa, checking on virus
parks and beaches has had not seeing those cases as cases and starting to enter
suppressing COVID-19, is much at this point.” and manage data. After var-
expected this week. As of Saturday, the ious meetings throughout
According to the earlier county has reported 219 the day, Gardner and Jenny
modeling, some 900 coro- confirmed local cases of Mercado, the other epide-
navirus patients should be the virus. Besides the 36 miologist on the team, pull
in the hospital around this people (17%) who were all of the day’s coronavirus
time. deemed infected through
As of Friday, there were community transmission,
statistics together and up-
date the county’s COVID-19
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only 23 confirmed or sus- 102 people (47%) have been website, which includes essential hearing healthcare needs
pected COVID-19 patients classified as “close contact” newly confirmed cases, the
in local hospitals and three cases, 42 (19%) related to number of people recovered in this unprecedented time.
who needed intensive care, travel and 38 cases (18%) and a host of other demo-
according to hospital data remain under investiga- graphic information.
provided by the state. tion, according to county Mercado, who has If you are having a problem with
Every local resident who health department figures.
tests positive for the virus
worked in infectious
disease control her entire
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triggers a new line of inves- Bigger control team career, has been with the significant communication problems
tigation for the contact To combat the coronavi- county public health divi-
tracers to find potentially rus pandemic, the county’s sion since 2002. The area of or personal safety concerns, please
more infected people. public health division infectious disease consis-
The county’s expanded had to recruit more staff tently changes and there’s contact us for curbside drive-up service
testing, which started Sat- to bolster its 11-member a great deal of variety in
urday with a group of local disease control unit, which the field, she said. at one of our offices.
health care workers, likely normally includes seven Mercado said she didn’t
will reveal many more public health nurses, two expect the pandemic to be
virus cases in the area and public health investigators, a coronavirus. “I thought This essential service is available for all
more threads to follow. one epidemiologist and a it would be influenza,” she
“Every day we come senior office assistant. said. “Influenza is always kinds of hearing devices, regardless of where they
back to work and we won- Nine additional public changing from year to
der what the case count is health nurses were cross- year, so I think it always were purchased.
going to be today. ... How trained and assigned to has a great potential for a

707-509-8267
hard we’re going to have the disease control team, pandemic.”
to work to keep that down while three public health As epidemiologists,
by contacting more people nurses were brought in to Gardner and Mercado
and more people and do active case identification summarize the case data,
more people, and it can by going out in the field count the number of
be exhausting,” Ballard among vulnerable groups contacts for each case, look www.goodhearing.com/covid-19
said. of people to find cases of at worksites and addresses
During a wildfire, COVID-19. The team also and social networks to try