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County Back in COVID Red Tier, By Jondi Gumz
COMMUNITY NEWS County Back in COVID Red Tier
By Jondi Gumz
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Aspike of 109 COVID cases connected to Halloween activities pushed Santa Cruz County back into the state’s Red Tier Friday, a blow to Boardwalk rides, breweries and bars, which must close, to wineries, which can only operate outdoors as the weather turns cold, to restaurants, cinema and places of worship, which must cut indoor capacity to 25% and to gyms and dance studios, which must cut capacity to 10%.
Then 10 school districts in the county had been making plans to start in-person instruction in January with a hybrid model for half the students at a time, but County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah said being in the Red Tier may make that impossible.
Just two weeks ago, there were so few new cases the county advanced to the less restrictive Orange Tier, which allowed 50% capacity at restaurants, cinema and places of worship, 25% at gyms and dance studios and allowed Boardwalk rides to open for the first time since mid-March. Now that is over.
The county now has 480 active cases to trace and make their contacts aware of the exposure to the contagious coronavirus and the need for testing, which currently is prioritized for nursing home staff to prevent another deadly outbreak like the one that was fatal for 16 residents at Watsonville Post Acute Center.
Most of the new cases are millennials age 20-34 or age 19 and younger. Santa Cruz saw a double-digit increase in cases, and Watsonville was close behind.
With Thanksgiving approaching, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel worries that holiday gatherings will lead to another spike in cases, another spike in hospitalizations, and another spike in deaths.
“We’re all so starved for times with our friends and families,” she said at a press conference Tuesday. “This is a very risky time for our elders.”
She said Watsonville Post Acute has not had a positive case in four weeks and is now able to accept new patients.
Assisted Living Outbreak
Meanwhile, a COVID outbreak has occurred at Maple House II, a 40-bed assisted living facility in Live Oak, spreading to 10 staff and 14 residents, with one staffer hospitalized.
Mark Boolootian, whose father is a resident there, said he got a text Saturday, Oct. 31, from the owner informing him a staff member had a positive COVID test. He said his father, who served in World War II, has risk factors, he’s 93 and overweight Richard Boolootian and he had come out of a bout with sepsis at another facility, but is “sturdy” and “he loves the girls that care for him.”
Boolootian said the owner wanted to get everyone tested on the weekend. That wasn’t possible but county health on Monday agreed to come out that day, and Boolootian got the results Monday night: Positive.
He said the Maple House II owner had been pro-active, halting indoor visits in February, before the county order to do so.
He only got to see his father when he took him to doctor appointments, but he got regular phone calls.
With the positive COVID test, his father stopped calling for 10 days, so Boolootian would text Maple House II to ask for a phone call. At first. his dad sounded weak and disoriented and wasn’t eating, unusual for a man who appreciates food.
Boolootian said the owner “worked round the clock to keep everyone informed,” and when his father’s oxygen level was 89%, he was asked if paramedics should be called to take his father to the emergency room. He decided his father should stay at Maple House II.
“This place is his home,” he said.
Since then, his father seems to be on the road to recovery.
“The last couple days, he’s calling us,” Boolootian said. “It’s as good as we could possibly hope for.”
With the virus able to spread from people who don’t have symptoms, care facilities face a challenge.
“You can’t guarantee this isn’t going to leak in,” Boolootian said.
He’s pinning his hopes on a vaccine, which Dr. Newel said is due to arrive in December in Santa Cruz County.
She cautioned there won’t be enough for everyone. The first batch is earmarked for nursing home residents and staff, healthcare workers who see patients in emergency rooms and intensive care units, and COVID wards.
Testing Options
Dr. Larry de Ghetaldi, president of Palo Alto Medical Foundation Santa Cruz, said Tuesday there is not enough testing capacity to test all medical staff locally.
The priority is staff and doctors at nursing homes, he said.
PAMF is testing all patients prior to procedures, including women in labor, and the turnaround time is less than 24 hours, he added.
Newel expects testing of people without symptoms will become more readily available when the state’s OptumServe test site at Ramsay Park in Watsonville expands.
She said a “probable location” has been found in North County for an OptumServe test site, and Mimi Hall, county Health Services Agency director, said the location might be announced by the end of the week.
On Friday, however, county spokesman Jason Hoppin said he had no announcement to make.
One new option, besides the CVS drive-up COVID testing at 1750 41st Ave. in Capitola with appointments made in advance online, is SennecaDx.com/ community, which is offering online appointments for Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a pop-up test site at Twin Lake Church, Aptos (full story page 9).
Counting Cases
Don’t look for the 109 cases on the county’s COVID dashboard at santacruzhealth.org.
You won’t find that number, and Hoppin explained it’s due to a change in how cases are recorded. Previously, cases were attributed the day the positive report comes in.
Now county staff are attributing cases to the day symptoms began for better tracking. So the dashboard shows 40 cases on Nov. 3; 37 cases on Nov. 3; 54 (a record) on Nov. 4; and 33 on Nov. 5.
Dr. Newel urged people to look at recommendations at santacruzhealth.org (under “latest news”) on safer holidays, such as hosting parties online, sharing a virtual meal with family and friends, participating in drive-by events, and avoiding long distance travel.
The state limits private gatherings to no more than three households, requires them to be outdoors and two hours or less, and mandates face coverings and six feet of distance between households.
“Please, please be careful,” Newel said.
The county Health Services Agency will host a town hall for employers on AB 685, a new law on reporting COVID outbreaks at workplaces, from 2-3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, on the Microsoft Teams platform. There will be a presentation and question and answer period. To join, visit tinyurl.com/y4all7g9. Online participation is advised to see the presentation but employers can call 916-318-9542 to listen in. Use conference ID 984607670#. n
Photos courtesy of Mark Boolootian
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COVID-19 Cases
As of Friday, November 13 Aptos.....................................143 Ben Lomond ..........................27 Boulder Creek........................28 Capitola..................................80 Felton......................................31 Freedom ...............................185 Santa Cruz............................693 Scotts Valley...........................87 Soquel.....................................73 Watsonville .......................1,890 Unincorporated.....................35 Under investigation..............84
Total...................................3,356
Source: santacruzhealth.org •••
